Quote:
Originally Posted by CBeisbol
This is an interesting comment. Pretty much cuts to the quick.
Starts off saying that there's only one player IRL who is good enough to be a two-way MLB player
Then says there are too many two-way players.
Then says they never develop.
Then says only one has ever developed which loops back to the original statement of there only being one player good enough to do it at the MLB level.
In high school and college lots of players hit and pitch. But many are drafted with some intrigue as to whether they will be used as a hitter or pitcher. Alex Verdugo is a recent example.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...2nd-round-pick
It's rare that ANY prospect develop. So, of course, it's much more rare that a player can develop as both a pitcher and hitter.
There's also Michael Lorenzen. He's had a 94 ERA- and 103 FIP- in 410 major league innings so far. He's also been a 84 wRC+ hitter (.235/.279/.432) in 145 major league at bats and has played 90 innings in the OF with 6 starts in CF.
So, there are two-way players in MLB. They are, obviously, rare |
To be frank, I am not sure that Ohtani can even do it. He hasn't done both in the Majors for more than a couple of months, and I have doubts that he would be able to do both well over the course of a whole season. In OOTP though, he always seems to be good. It's something that's so cool, although maybe unrealistic, that I want to see how his simulated career ends up, so I'm okay with it in this one scenario.
For created players, there seems to be too many players that are classified as two-way that really don't have the potential to be two-way, either because their batting potential isn't good enough or their pitching potential isn't good enough. Ohtani is the rarest case of baseball player in that he has ace like potential and also elite hitter potential. That's why he's been given the chance. In my example in Triston Casas, I don't know why he would be listed as a two-way player because he hasn't thrown a single professional inning and was not drafted to be a two-way player. In my O's save, top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez is considered a two-way player as well, even though he has a grand total of zero MiLB PA. I'm sure this is affecting his development, but I'd have to hire completely new minor league managers to get him to not be a two-way player and spend too much time going through the game's coaching system that doesn't make any sense to get it. all for one player. yay, i love this feature.
Yeah, Michael Lorenzen. His .208/.283/.313 slash line from a season ago doesn't make him a two-way player in my book. He was good in 34 PA in 2018 so the Reds decided to try him out. It didn't work.