Drafting Up The Middle Players

[hcorry2001]

Could you say it's beneficial to draft up the middle players (CF, SS, 2B) because when it comes to trades, they hold more value because of their versatility and athleticism?

[NoOne]

You will often draft guys labeled as such and tehy will never likely play thos epositions in the MLB... very much like real life.

focus on actualy defensive ability, and worry about what those traits fit, rather than their given position for th draft.

so, good of range and error% relative to what you want out of a CF at the mlb level... then he's a CF no matter what label is place on him.

limited range, not a good error% and wicked strong arm? he's a RF, most liekyl even if labeled a cf during draft.

lots of give and take, so i tried to stay away from #'s...

my opinion of a CF is minimum 60-70/100 overall defense @200/200 experience for CF (exp=unseen wihtout profile editor in commissioner mode, when it stops improving while other things remain the same, you know it's 200/200), or ~70-80/100 range, above-average avoidance of errors and at least a near average arm strength... i try to avoid sub 40-45ish/100 for CF/LF.

range being the most important -- even more important for me than overall defensive rating at CF with 200/200 experience. i don't like guys below 70's range...and strongly prefer 80% of scale for CF.

normally i'd say the weak arm in CF over LF, but due to how ootp distributes OF assists, a strong arm in cf results in a heavy amount of OF assists. this isn't values as much in RL. they'd rather the stonger arms go to RF and then LF before CF... range will amlost always be the deciding factor for CF though.

if i see 2 cf @ ~same defensive rating, but one guy has more range, i'm going with the range in most contexts... i'm sure i could find some whacky extremes where i may not feel the same.

So, most 3b, 2b are going to be ss in draft... same with cf and corner guys, but not quite as prevalent of an effect. this absolutely should not preclude you from drafting a 2b to be a 2b or the rarer possiblity that a "2b" in draft is actually good enough to play SS.

let the individual defensive ratings dictate.. only TCR will make these particular ratings change drastically... but, do watch cfor development.. somtiems 1-2 ticks ech year over 7-8 years can make a real difference too.

defense is something i continually asses while they develop.. any changes and i will convert them to a new position that better suits them.. as well as making sure they learn any position they qualify for under my opinions, in general.

[pgjocki]

To build upon what NoOne posted I focus on taking the best overall prospect in the draft - especially once you get past the first few rounds.

These guys are all developmental guys and you are really looking for the best athletes who possess the skills you want to build your team around. I am a huge OBP guy and will look at things like contact, gap power and speed has that will be the guy I want in my line-up. I of course want guys with a good eye as guys who strike out are by their very nature not high OBP guys.

For defense I agree that taking guys at premium slots is usually a good choice because they can be put in other positions in the minors to learn new positions and make them all around better trade bait. I treat my minors as faceless stock chips that I can buy, sell or discard as I please.

Your mileage may vary but I believe you are on the right track.

[NoOne]

heartless and cold... i love it!

should treat your mlb playrs that way too. this isn't some hippie team building, love the world and each other exercise, it's business.

ah, unfettered capitalism.. run and hide! the "invisible hand" is an evil %$#@ to the weak.

if the ends always justifies the means, there is no morality involved. .. "just win, baby" .. so go out there and make ayn rand proud!

belated edit: that's sarcasm relative to anythign outside of a video game or extenction level evenets etc. (catastrophes and the like)

[NoOne]

i think i just outed 2 trump voters

kidding.