A Scout's Perspective On Defense

[knockahoma]

So far, I'm much happier with the historical defensive ratings in XI. Thanks to the guys who worked hard to neutralize all that stuff out. For me, get the defense wrong, get the game wrong.

Anyway. Just curious whether the brain trust behind OOTP has seen the following info and if the AI implements the knowledge offered by this scout into the game in a few areas: One, drafting. Two, minor league position switches, and three, major league roster and lineup decisions. At any rate, it's interesting to see how today's and yesteryear's brains define a player's position:

What a scout looks for by position

Catcher

Fielding
Arm
Hitting
Power
Speed

First base

Hitting
Power
Fielding
Arm
Speed

Second base

Hitting
Fielding
Power
Speed
Arm

Third Base

Hitting
Power
Fielding
Arm
Speed

Shortstop

Fielding
Arm
Hitting
Speed
Power

Left field

Hitting
Power
Fielding
Arm
Speed

Center field

Fielding
Hitting
Speed
Power
Arm

Right field

Hitting
Power
Arm
Fielding
Speed

And when it comes to the draft and position adjustments in the minors and majors, this:

Then why so many shortstops?



I just told you! They want to acquire the best collection of talent possible! Just because a player is a shortstop in the minors does not mean he will play there in the Majors. And just because a player is drafted as a shortstop does not mean he will play there even in the minors, let alone if he ever makes it to the big leagues. Many, many, many major league players that are not shortstops were one day shortstops either in the minors, in college or in high school.



Think of it this way, when you have a high schooler with legitimate hopes of entertaining a professional career, he’s going to be the best athlete on his team. And where do the best athletes play? Shortstop. It does not mean he will remain at shortstop at a more competitive level. For when he gets to the next level (either the minors or college) he’ll be competing against several other guys who were also high school shortstops. And they can’t all continue to play shortstop. The ones who do remain at shortstop in the minors may not even continue to stay there while they advance through the system.



It’s possible for a team to draft 5 shortstops among their first 10 selections, only truly anticipating that perhaps 2 of them will continue to play the position a couple seasons later. The others will move to other positions.

Baseball Examiner -- Scouting FAQ