Trouble Developing Prospects

[lightzout18]

I play with the Padres and I have trouble developing prospects. I have my assistant GM manage call ups and send downs, and minor league managers manage the lineups.

My scout is outstanding in all categories. I take a look at prospects personality (team leader, intelligence, hard worker etc), and out of like 20 5 star players over a few years, maybe 1 or 2 panned out. Very few 4.5 and 4 stars panned out also.

I also have coaches that works well with prospects and put $20,000,000 into development per year.

Any tips on developing prospects?

[james17]

Perhaps you could achieve better results by changing the player creation modifiers to generate more high value prospects?? Oh, and for how many seasons has this been happening?

[lightzout18]

I have plenty of 5 star and 4.5 star prospects, its just they never turn into anything. and it has happened at least 20 seasons. I've started over a lot and can't get it to work

[ttaka808]

I would recommend setting your Player Development Budget to the max if you can afford it. It works for me. Most of my top prospects range from 4-5 stars in their prime.

[SirMichaelJordan]

This reflects reality. Its not you. Especially if this is based on a small sample size of seasons..Anything less that 10 years is a small sample size when it comes to drafts and prospects.

['94 EXPOS]

Originally Posted by SirMichaelJordan

This reflects reality. Its not you. Especially if this is based on a small sample size of seasons..Anything less that 10 years is a small sample size when it comes to drafts and prospects.

Exactly.

OP:
You are probably doing better then you think you are.

And keep in mind that some (very few) of your lowly rated prospects will blossom late (and some of your better ones will fade!).

The game is very accurate in how and how many prospects actually develop in to MLB players.

Having a good scout and paying extra in to your player development does help but probably not to the extent that you currently expect.

Also, while personality traits are important do not always shy away from taking talented but 'undesirable' players. The game and real life MLB are littered with jerks who can bring it!

I always play as an expansion team. When I started playing regularly I would sink big money in to scouting and development. I would become very frustrated (be wary of those dreaded stars!) that all the 'elite' talent I had acquired didn't bring me a stable of all-stars. I almost quit playing, thinking that game was rigged (this is when I joined these boards and started nosing around and realized I had a lot to learn). Over time, I realized how tough this game is. I did get better at identifying talent and managing my development system. I began to enjoy the challenge! I now can build a team from the ground up pretty quick.....usually.....and '16 presents the best challenge yet when it comes to level of difficulty

It sounds like you are mostly on the right track. Managing your expectations of your team's system and getting a little better the more you play........you will enjoy this game

[MikeS21]

Forget the ratings stars and the 20-80 numbers for a moment. What are the idea personality settings do you look for in a potential "super-star?"

[SirMichaelJordan]

Think of prospects as lottery tickets.

The more you spend on development the better your chances to get a serviceable MLB player.

The better your scout the better you are at picking potential MLB players. (Equivalent of a guy who is good at picking numbers)

Its not a game of superstar or bust. Any player who can contribute for you at a MLB level is considered a win.

Also, value individual ratings more than OVR POT.

Can a player field? Does he has speed and run based well or can steal? Does he has good contact or power potential? (5 or better on a 2-8 scale) does he has a good eye, gap power potential?

Individual potential ratings are not static so if a guy have poor batting ratings but has tremendous power potential, it is possible for him to break the ceiling of his current (perceived) contact potential (or eye, etc) and become a MLB a player.

[endgame]

SirMichael and Expos, I think, are pretty much spot on. There's still a few folks, not saying you're one of them, and a few with "theories" that imagine the game to be a quest-oriented, achieve and conquer scenario wherein once you possess the blue orb of Alathan you can enter the fifth level chamber. It isn't.

All you can do is implement strategies and plans that offer up chances of success and good performance, e.g. development. One of the phenomenal elements of the game Markus has been able to simulate rather effectively- I can't attest to whether it's plan or accident, much like any art -is the uncertainty of the human dynamics at play. Give some kids Legos and they build intricate skyscrapers; others, even with visible potential and the best of mentors, find themselves unable to construct the simplest combination of blocks, or they try to eat them.

[lightzout18]

Originally Posted by '94 EXPOS

Exactly.

OP:
You are probably doing better then you think you are.

And keep in mind that some (very few) of your lowly rated prospects will blossom late (and some of your better ones will fade!).

The game is very accurate in how and how many prospects actually develop in to MLB players.

Having a good scout and paying extra in to your player development does help but probably not to the extent that you currently expect.

Also, while personality traits are important do not always shy away from taking talented but 'undesirable' players. The game and real life MLB are littered with jerks who can bring it!

I always play as an expansion team. When I started playing regularly I would sink big money in to scouting and development. I would become very frustrated (be wary of those dreaded stars!) that all the 'elite' talent I had acquired didn't bring me a stable of all-stars. I almost quit playing, thinking that game was rigged (this is when I joined these boards and started nosing around and realized I had a lot to learn). Over time, I realized how tough this game is. I did get better at identifying talent and managing my development system. I began to enjoy the challenge! I now can build a team from the ground up pretty quick.....usually.....and '16 presents the best challenge yet when it comes to level of difficulty

It sounds like you are mostly on the right track. Managing your expectations of your team's system and getting a little better the more you play........you will enjoy this game

Ok, that's good to know. I have my scouting development budget at $20,000,000 and my scout is outstanding in all categories.

A lot of times the OSA potential will be 2 or 3 star but my scout says they are a 4.5 or 5 star potential. Should I trust my scout with the good ratings? I also have between $8,000,000 and $12,000,000 scouting budget.

Originally Posted by MikeS21

Forget the ratings stars and the 20-80 numbers for a moment. What are the idea personality settings do you look for in a potential "super-star?"

I look for guys with good work ethic, intelligence and leadership.

Originally Posted by SirMichaelJordan

Think of prospects as lottery tickets.

The more you spend on development the better your chances to get a serviceable MLB player.

The better your scout the better you are at picking potential MLB players. (Equivalent of a guy who is good at picking numbers)

Its not a game of superstar or bust. Any player who can contribute for you at a MLB level is considered a win.

Also, value individual ratings more than OVR POT.

Can a player field? Does he has speed and run based well or can steal? Does he has good contact or power potential? (5 or better on a 2-8 scale) does he has a good eye, gap power potential?

Individual potential ratings are not static so if a guy have poor batting ratings but has tremendous power potential, it is possible for him to break the ceiling of his current (perceived) contact potential (or eye, etc) and become a MLB a player.

So do individual ratings combine to make the overall? That's what I thought at least.


Thanks a ton for the responses guys!

[SirMichaelJordan]

Originally Posted by lightzout18

Ok, that's good to know. I have my scouting development budget at $20,000,000 and my scout is outstanding in all categories.



A lot of times the OSA potential will be 2 or 3 star but my scout says they are a 4.5 or 5 star potential. Should I trust my scout with the good ratings? I also have between $8,000,000 and $12,000,000 scouting budget.







I look for guys with good work ethic, intelligence and leadership.









So do individual ratings combine to make the overall? That's what I thought at least.





Thanks a ton for the responses guys!

It does but i am not sure of the actual formula. Some ratings more or may not hold more weight than others like speed, it may hold more weight than avoid K but I am just speculating here.

If star ratings are a necessity, note that 2 1/2 stars is considered an average major league player and can start for a team. A prospect thats 2 1/2 star potential is a future major leaguer.

[TGH-Adfabre]

So do individual ratings combine to make the overall? That's what I thought at least.

No, individual ratings are what drive the statistics created by the game engine.

The overall rating is a visual sorting/assessment tool that is vague and does not always make sense.
1) There is an option "Rate players based on all players or positions" This will effect OVR and POT stars. I use all players, I play mainly online and changing positions can game the rating system.
2) There are options to value players relative to certain leagues. These can be turned off. Check to see if you have selected it.

If you are having difficulty relating OVR and POT to the other (more important) player ratings I would recommend setting scouting to 100% accuracy or turn it off. This will mean the information you see is 100% correct. After you dominate the AI in this way then I suggest you turn it back on...
UNLESS you are having a blast playing now, then leave it.

If you only asses, promote and demote players based on Stars you will miss opportunities to improve your team.

[r0nster]

coaches I believe play a MAJOR part in a players development in the minors. I have noticed significant decrease and increase on the development of players since OOTP16 from past versions. A good challenge to say the least and not as predictable as previously. The pattern to pick out the ones to keep and throw into the FA pool is harder to find now.

[RchW]

As has been said don't shy away from talented but low work ethic players. Same for greedy and selfish ones. If they have talent they will beat a middling grinder every time.

[The Yurpman]

Also, as mentioned, don't count out the current low ranked prospects. I've had a 26th round pick in the draft become a closer on the big league team in three years. He had low rankings in Stuff, Movement and Control but his pitches when I drafted him were 18 or 19/20. Don't count out those guys.

[NoOne]

get 'controlling' persnality managers for your minors. they will create the best environment for players upto a 10-year mlb vet.

definitely spend as much as you can each year on development.

osa vs your scout: well, that probably fluctuates and further influenced by scouting accuracy.

if you have an excellent scout, i'd shade toward his numbers, but that does not preclude the OSA from being more accurate than a legendary scout. i assume it happens less often with better scouts. you'd have to flip to player editor or turn 100% accuracy on for a second to know for sure.

spend on minor league scouting too. even though it doesn't directly affect development, it can affect promotions and demotions due to poor scouting reports about development. that can stagnate a prospect as fast as any other misstep.

on that note, take control of promoting and demoting your best prospects - if you don't want to do the whole minor league system. shortlist them and force them to stay at current minor league level with individual player strategies. you'll only have to keep tabs on 10-20 players or so. just check-in after each scouting report and see if someone needs to move.

[mpejkrm]

Get good minor league coaches. Raise your player development budget. But I'd really recommend promoting your minor leaguers yourself. I know it can take time, but often times players are more advanced than the AI believes. I don't pay attention to the AI's suggestions on promotions/demotions and I've had a lot of success with prospects.

[RISP!]

I think this is what makes baseball and OOTP so interesting, is the fact that prospects are not as guaranteed. On top of that, how good a player performs changes every year. So really, there are a lot of surprises, busts, and unpredictable stuff happening.

Having said that, I like to look for good talent guys with personality that I like. For instance, either good leadership, normal or above intelligence and work ethic, as well as the desire to win! If they have low greed and high loyalty, then those are bonuses. For me personally, if a player is listed as VERY LOW in intelligence or work ethic, I have a problem with them.

[marc5477]

Just my 2 cents but since the change was made to hide coaching stats its become much harder to develop players. Its not impossible but it simply is no longer worth the money involved. I found that its muuuuuuuch more efficient (financially) to simply trade for great prospects who are ready to enter the majors from other teams by giving up your draft picks and lowering development/scouting budget to half of minimum (just to make mediocre players). The budgets savings for those two can easily buy you two super stars and the draft picks will land you young prospects (who are cheap to sign long term anyway).

Its strange how different OotP16 is from 15. In 15, you can easily decimate the game with your minor league development. In fact, it was so bad that I had to give myself insane handicaps and I still got bored because I won the championship 50% of the time with my long contract prospects... In 16, I still decimate the league but now I actually use more money since I trade for players who had contracts made by the AI previously (unless I get prospects). But bottom line is that in 16 you either micro manage your entire minor league and monitor the managers to get the good ones or you just dont use it. If you do it my way, you will end up with 2 extra superstars (money saved from development and scouting), and at least 1 fully developed super prospect (by trading top few draft picks and one average player).

I wish I could find a nice balance... 15 was too unrealistic with player development and 16 is more realistic (I dont think I have never developed a super star through the minors... they all seem to lose their stats by the time they hit AAA) but contracts and financials remain the weakness of the AI.

[pujolsfan1]

Originally Posted by james17

Perhaps you could achieve better results by changing the player creation modifiers to generate more high value prospects?? Oh, and for how many seasons has this been happening?

How/where do you find this?