Amateur draft strategies for '14

[BeisbolFan]

I'm a relatively new player (started with v13), and am having a hard time with choosing talent in the amateur draft. In OOTP13, I could at least identify some 2-3 star talent to potentially warm the bench in the future, but now I am wading in a sea of 1-star talent. I get how unpredictable the draft is in relation to a player's future career, and am probably in the minority here in that between realism and playability of the draft, I would prefer a nod to the latter. In terms of my own strategy, I try to pick players with avg-high work ethic/intelligence, but I'm not sure that's enough. I set up feeder leagues, and the talent pool is essentially the same. As the draft is now, I feel kind of lost in terms of what strategies I should be using

[olivertheorem]

I am finding that the key to drafting past the first few rounds is finding players who have the fewest holes in their potentials. For example, in round 10, you may find yourself looking at an OF who looks like he'd be a useful major-leaguer....except his EYE and POW potentials are only 40. I take him on the thought that, well, maybe he'll pick up 10-15 points of potential in one or both and actually be useful.

Ratings assuming 20-80 scale. Adjust according to your preference.

[MrDov]

Once I get past the first couple rounds and into all the 1-star potential guys, I'll switch to "potential pitching" and "potential hitting" views. I'll sort by an important column (control, contact, etc.) and pick the most well rounded guys there. Nothing scientific but I've had a couple guys gain overall potential and maybe be role players in the majors.

[injury log]

If there's some secret to drafting past the 6th round in real life, I think MLB teams would love to know what it is.

[olivertheorem]

Yeah, it's really "pick and pray" after that point.

[DanP68]

Originally Posted by injury log

If there's some secret to drafting past the 6th round in real life, I think MLB teams would love to know what it is.

If there is some secret to drafting in Round 1, I think they would want to know.

But to the OP's point, because OOTP is a computer simulation of real life, where the "randomness" is programmed, theoretically it should be easier to figure out how to the game the draft in OOTP than it would be in real life. I suppose if one looked at enough draft data, they could find patterns which suggest guys who will be booms or busts.

I used to take the draft very seriously. Now I just hand things over to my Legendary Scout and let him handle it. I'm not convinced that I can add value pouring over the numbers, and it takes much longer to examine a draft list than any other game function takes. Not a complaint at all. It's just not where I prefer to spend my time.

[r0nster]

I go 3 to 5 rounds then I let AI take over

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by r0nster

I go 3 to 5 rounds then I let AI take over

Me too, especially with v14 with less talent to choose from.

[goalieump413]

I draft intelligent and hard working players, even if their ratings are equal to or lesser than a similar prospect. This really only applies in the 3rd and later rounds, since there are usually some blue chip guys around for the first 2 rounds.

[Mntwins]

Originally Posted by goalieump413

I draft intelligent and hard working players, even if their ratings are equal to or lesser than a similar prospect. This really only applies in the 3rd and later rounds, since there are usually some blue chip guys around for the first 2 rounds.

I do the same. This way it saves time since they are all sorta equal.

[mpejkrm]

Yep, after the first few rounds you want to look for guys with good intangible ratings. I like to draft the whole draft because the draft is my favorite part of baseball and OOTP

[The Wolf]

I draft for three rounds and then go autodraft.