Yes the game at default works pretty well. Very good play variety.
I share the same concern about WPs and HBPs. However, given the walks are a bit down (as usual) we have some leeway in lowering Pitch Consistency slider without worrying about adverse side effects (last year, too many WPs was the problem that caused you to edit catchers).
I doubt we should lower PC slider as much as we did last year, but will see how that increases WPs and HBPs.