A Predicament...

[dishnet34]

Playing a Tigers season, and I'm in mid-May, doing a project where I play one game every day, mimicking the real-life MLB schedule. Right now, I have a bit of a logjam when it comes to my starting lineup, and I'm looking for some advice.

TL;DR: I've got Moya and both Martinezes hitting well, along with all of my starting OFs; how should I go about setting up my lineups and/or trading one of them?

I'm currently in first place by 3.5 games over Minnesota, and have the second-best record in the AL.

I had Victor Martinez go down with an intercostal strain on April 8, and put him on the DL, calling up Steven Moya (big lefty power-hitting OF with hella strikeout issues) to take his place. At this time, J.D. Martinez hadn't come back, either (I edited it at the beginning of the season so it reflected real-life, and he was out for an additional 4 weeks), so this was a win-win, especially since Moya started to freaking MASH. At the end of April, he was batting .379/.425/.848 with 9 dingers, second on the team behind Justin Upton. As of where I'm at now, he's regressed a bit, hitting .333/.370/.643 with 11 dingers.

Then J.D. came back on April 21. I've switched off between playing either him or Moya at either RF or DH since he came back, and that's been going fairly well. J.D.'s mashing a bit as well, as of now hitting .327/.387/.480 with 2 HRs (the power hasn't quiiiiite come yet).

Now, V-Mart's back, and I've already made room on the roster for him by clearing Dixon Machado through waivers and sending him to AAA. In seven games this season (five pre-DL, 2 post-DL), he's hitting .320/.414/.600 with 2 homers. Which, yeah, SSS, but that's pretty good for right now.

So now I'm trying to figure out how to get all of these guys ample playing time. V-Mart can't really play anything besides DH (and possibly first, but Miggy), and Moya and J.D. have DH-like qualities, plus some decent OF abilities, too. Upton's hitting well, along with my CF, Guillermo Heredia, who I traded for before the season.

My question is: How should I go about setting up the lineup so that all of them get adequate playing time? Is one of them possibly expendable this early in the season? I don't want to have to play Miggy at 3B and Moya at 1B to accomodate them all!

Sorry for the long-windedness, hence the TL;DR near the top of the post.

[sreem]

I also play the Tigers a lot, so I will give you my 2 cents for what it's worth. In my experience with Moya, he is EXTREMELY streaky. You can read that as unreliable.

If it were me, I would give JD and V-Mart the majority of the AB's and platoon Moya with the odd start here and there against lefty's (in place of V-Mart) and pinch hit duty in NON-PRESSURE situations.

He is always a K waiting to happen. I totally get how he makes you love him, he has done it to me before as well. He's got a heck of an arm in RF, but defense doesn't score you runs, and unless TCR kicks in on him at some point, he will break your heart.

JD and V-Mart are proven commodities, and unless TCR kicks them down a notch, I would stick with those two.

** All this goes out the window if you can figure out a way to trade V-Mart or Upton. Those would be the 2 I'd look to move if you REALLY want to get Moya 500 ABs this season.

[sreem]

BTW, how in the world can you contain yourself to only 1 game a day?!?! That is, like, crazy self-control.

BTWW, I just passed into May 1st. Upton got hurt in the first week of the season for 3 weeks so I called up Moya as well. For me his line is : .395/.465/.658 , 3HR 8RBI 5BB 9K in 43 PA over 10 games, 9 starts.

I just add that to let you know I'm in the same boat, and understand what you're going through. For me, I've gone with JD in LF, JaCoby in CF, and Mahtook in RF with V-Mart DH. I give Moya a start here and there, but he hasn't played much since JD came back. That's hard considering he was 8 for 19 with 1 HR and 4BB/4K in his last 5 games.

[sreem]

Not to hijack your post, but I've got another issue. I know it is early, but Anibal has returned to his 2013 form for me.

His stat line reads: 1 - 0, 2.25 ERA/1.16 WHIP/27K,8BB/24 hits over 27.2 INN in 4 starts.

I'm thinking "Can I trade him this early? Does the AI even care about his stats?" I know I'm not going to pick up his option at the end of the year, but his is my #1 so far this year pitching out of my #5 slot. Don't want to rush it but I also don't want to lose any value he might have right now.

[NoOne]

*** New patch improved fulmer, verlander and ??? you'd have to find the thread i am referencing for specifics, but some players got some needed adjustments and mostly beneficial in this case... maybe not for sanchez you have to restart any 2017 league to realize those changes, though.

Until you get rid of them, what i write below should tell you my preference on whom to play and who should sit, if any.

trading v-mart is a key goal for me every year since he signed that 4yr mistake...

upton is another option to get rid of, but he's more than serviceable, too. this guy is going to be a financial problem, nearly gauranteed... it's important to get rid of this boondoggle before too long. i start actively looking in year 1, and i'll be patient for a year or 2.

dumping anibal any way possible... i don't even care about eating it, as long as i get rid of it year 1. improved results may improve trade value, not sure how long you need to go, and definitely depends on AI Evaluation and the resulting AI GM's sliders that fluctuate around that setting. > 4 GS probably needed to make a dent, i'd assume. he's been crappy for last 2+ years, so? even when sanchez was good, he didn't translate well to the game in his peak years. even then i always tried to trade this guy, but you got soemthing good back then.

even though v-mart is definitely a more complete hitter than moya, after 2017 that's less and less likely to be true. moya will never be anything great without TCR bonuses, so he'd be a fill-in DH... i'd play JD more in the field and only play moya in the field enouhg to maintain his RF rating. (if lazy i'll just use the 'lesser' player against lefties in the field on the depth chart, and the more long-term solution against righties...)

best case scenario is that this guy is your power lefty off the bench or better yet traded for something useful... you like vmart? then go ahead and eke one more year out and ph moya liberally and spot start him for at least RF. don't read into streaks.. you cannot predict them, you cannot manage them... it's impossible. moya is crappy... the truth will out, but he's going to hit quite a few HR along the way.

i doubt you have a competent bullpen in 2017, so take the budget hits this year and get them out of the way... whatever way you choose to go... biggest key to the tigers is rescue them, financially. they have a good offense, and some good young pitching, according to OotP.

i don't even get consistent seasons out of vmart for last 2-3 years... i've long lost my taste for him in ootp... and in rl he needs to get on the roids again

[Bulldawgz24]

To answer your question regarding the latest patch, I know verlander, fulmer, and Justin Wilson had their velocities increased.

In my tigers franchise I'm not doing as well, currently in early July and working on trading some guys out. I was able to swing Sanchez (who was also playing well for me), moya, & Avila for some good pitching depth (AAA) level that will be some of my better relievers in 2018. Now trying to decide what to do with JD, he's awesome but it would really nice to get some prospects for him and then resign him, if available, in the offseason.....also I tried to trade Victor, but no one is interested....I may try to move in the offseason


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