Does OF range ever improve?

sloanrobe · 10-05-2022, 10:44 AM

I am rebuilding my team with young players and prospects. Does OF range ever improve?

What sort of things should I look out for when searching for a prospect with room to grow in that area?

billyray1984 · 10-05-2022, 02:09 PM

I have seen outfield range improve, but it is very rare. The improvement is also usually pretty minor (i.e. 5 point on the 20-80 scale). I've seen it go down way more than improve. Same thing with infield range altough I've had more instances of infield range improving.

Infield arm and outfield arm I've also seen improve, infield arm more often than outfield arm. Infield error and outfield error I've seen increase a lot more often. Turning double play is probably the rating I've seen increase the most often and in the most drastic manner.

As with all prospects, work ethic and intelligence seem to give you a better chance of the prospect reaching or even surpassing his ceiling, along with good coaching at all levels.

It it were me, I would purposefully draft and trade for prospects who are already good defensively but have room to grow offensively. You also have to keep in mind that fully formed defense first players are usually cheaper and can be acquired from the high minors and the benches of other teams readily.

JerseyPirate · 10-06-2022, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloanrobe

I am rebuilding my team with young players and prospects. Does OF range ever improve?

What sort of things should I look out for when searching for a prospect with room to grow in that area?

Players basically never improve above their anticipated ceiling. I just don't see it ever. And even the best CF's start to decline by age 27 and almost always become fragile by age 30.

locuspc · 10-06-2022, 02:31 PM

Players occasionally improve their OF range. Once in a while you will see a player with good OF range break out and become elite and it's very noticeable. People who say they don't improve aren't paying close attention.

Part of the problem is that scouting history doesn't track fielding ratings, only primary defensive rating which is a combination of fielding ratings and experience. So managers have to rely on memory to track changes in fielding ratings.

blink · 10-07-2022, 12:26 PM

Pretty sure my starting CF just improved on his OF range last night.

Will have to double check on that.

Pdubya64 · 10-07-2022, 01:35 PM

I feel the chance of improving range is just about right. Speed in RL is mostly a born trait that can be trained a bit.

Just think about how many top end range outfielders there are in MLB- not very many compared to the average. Seems ok to me.

I do like that it can happen but is pretty rare in a player's development.

fredbeene · 10-07-2022, 10:15 PM

Speed is factor of RANGE, but there is definitely more to it such ability to anticipate ball off the bat....many players themselves (FRED LYNN as one example) discuss how their range improved as the got older even as their speed decreased

quillenl · 10-08-2022, 05:24 PM

While range change is not tracked in game... it is tracked in Stats+ for those who are in Online leagues. It does not take long to confirm that Range can increase.

I sampled all my OFers and the league top 20 for ZR over the past few seasons and found several of the top players had had humble jumps (5 to 10 points on a 20-80 scale). For my own team I saw no increases, but a large number of expected decreases that I could attribute to aging.

Can it change? Yes. Is it worth drafting players with terrible range expecting it to have a chance of going up? Not in my opinion.

PSUColonel · 10-09-2022, 01:03 AM

Yes, they do change, but only very moderately. As stated above, a bad fielder isn't going to suddenly become a good one (at a given position) if he just doesn't have the tools. You could see DP ratings improve slightly perhaps...but really when you are talking about OF ratings, range is pretty much what it is, OF arm is pretty much what it is. Maybe you can see an improvement in errors.(same with the infield). that is something a player can work on by taking better angles etc... but their range is simply what it is for the most part. I do wish OF range was a bit more related to speed, but the two ratings have nothing to do with each other since speed only pertains to stealing.

Brad K · 10-10-2022, 10:30 PM

So we have a multi post discussion where it hasn't been defined if the discussion is about fictional players, real players with recalc off, or real players with recalc on.

With recalc on a player can certainly increase is range in the game if that's what he did real life. As for any other situation, I'll leave that to those who play that way.

locuspc · 10-10-2022, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad K

So we have a multi post discussion where it hasn't been defined if the discussion is about fictional players, real players with recalc off, or real players with recalc on.

With recalc on a player can certainly increase is range in the game if that's what he did real life. As for any other situation, I'll leave that to those who play that way.

From context it was clear he was asking about the development engine. If you play without the development engine it's not a discussion that's really relevant to you.

10-05-2022, 10:44 AM	#1
sloanrobe Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 84	Does OF range ever improve? I am rebuilding my team with young players and prospects. Does OF range ever improve? What sort of things should I look out for when searching for a prospect with room to grow in that area?

10-07-2022, 01:35 PM	#6
Pdubya64 Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Staunton, VA Posts: 497	I feel the chance of improving range is just about right. Speed in RL is mostly a born trait that can be trained a bit. Just think about how many top end range outfielders there are in MLB- not very many compared to the average. Seems ok to me. I do like that it can happen but is pretty rare in a player's development. __________________ "Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes." - Roy Batty Blade Runner

10-08-2022, 05:24 PM	#8
quillenl All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 581	While range change is not tracked in game... it is tracked in Stats+ for those who are in Online leagues. It does not take long to confirm that Range can increase. I sampled all my OFers and the league top 20 for ZR over the past few seasons and found several of the top players had had humble jumps (5 to 10 points on a 20-80 scale). For my own team I saw no increases, but a large number of expected decreases that I could attribute to aging. Can it change? Yes. Is it worth drafting players with terrible range expecting it to have a chance of going up? Not in my opinion. __________________

10-05-2022, 02:09 PM	#2
billyray1984 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2021 Posts: 218	I have seen outfield range improve, but it is very rare. The improvement is also usually pretty minor (i.e. 5 point on the 20-80 scale). I've seen it go down way more than improve. Same thing with infield range altough I've had more instances of infield range improving. Infield arm and outfield arm I've also seen improve, infield arm more often than outfield arm. Infield error and outfield error I've seen increase a lot more often. Turning double play is probably the rating I've seen increase the most often and in the most drastic manner. As with all prospects, work ethic and intelligence seem to give you a better chance of the prospect reaching or even surpassing his ceiling, along with good coaching at all levels. It it were me, I would purposefully draft and trade for prospects who are already good defensively but have room to grow offensively. You also have to keep in mind that fully formed defense first players are usually cheaper and can be acquired from the high minors and the benches of other teams readily.

10-06-2022, 02:31 PM	#4
locuspc Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2022 Posts: 345	Players occasionally improve their OF range. Once in a while you will see a player with good OF range break out and become elite and it's very noticeable. People who say they don't improve aren't paying close attention. Part of the problem is that scouting history doesn't track fielding ratings, only primary defensive rating which is a combination of fielding ratings and experience. So managers have to rely on memory to track changes in fielding ratings.

10-07-2022, 12:26 PM	#5
blink Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 220	Pretty sure my starting CF just improved on his OF range last night. Will have to double check on that.

10-07-2022, 10:15 PM	#7
fredbeene All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 1,678	Speed is factor of RANGE, but there is definitely more to it such ability to anticipate ball off the bat....many players themselves (FRED LYNN as one example) discuss how their range improved as the got older even as their speed decreased

10-09-2022, 01:03 AM	#9
PSUColonel Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 13,143	Yes, they do change, but only very moderately. As stated above, a bad fielder isn't going to suddenly become a good one (at a given position) if he just doesn't have the tools. You could see DP ratings improve slightly perhaps...but really when you are talking about OF ratings, range is pretty much what it is, OF arm is pretty much what it is. Maybe you can see an improvement in errors.(same with the infield). that is something a player can work on by taking better angles etc... but their range is simply what it is for the most part. I do wish OF range was a bit more related to speed, but the two ratings have nothing to do with each other since speed only pertains to stealing.

10-10-2022, 10:30 PM	#10
Brad K Banned Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,693 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	So we have a multi post discussion where it hasn't been defined if the discussion is about fictional players, real players with recalc off, or real players with recalc on. With recalc on a player can certainly increase is range in the game if that's what he did real life. As for any other situation, I'll leave that to those who play that way.