Ludicrous Depth Charts

TomVeal · 04-07-2026, 09:32 PM

As of a couple of Builds ago (or maybe earlier; I usually set all the depth charts myself), every minor league bench coach's depth chart looks like the one shown below. Observe, for instance, that J. Davis is scheduled to start in 13 out of every six games.

kidd_05_u2 · 04-07-2026, 10:44 PM

Minor league teams rotate a lot, and I think there was a recent change to how lineups are set because OOTP managers were not rotating at all.

I would be interested to see how this plays out. Are Davis and Potter actually starting more often than the starters over a two or three-week sample of games?

Benz0709 · 04-08-2026, 10:31 AM

This is actually accurate to real life. It would be unrealistic if Minor League teams had hard set Depth Charts with players who never see the field.

Minor Leagues are intended as developmental leagues and come with a everyone gets playing time mentality IRL, so this actually reflects that properly. I attend a lot of my local A+ team in the Brewers organization, lineup is different literally every night, exception being top prospects such as Jackson Chourio and Jesus Made would play every night when they came through. Currently have Luis Pena on the roster who is #23 in top 100 prospects, he's already sat a game and they've only played 3.

Example of this in your image. Based on Potential, i'm assuming Tobias is the top prospect. He's scheduled to start every game unless tired or Qi starting every 3rd game if he isn't starting the 4th game at 3B.

TomVeal · 04-08-2026, 11:04 AM

Of course. When I set up minor league depth charts by hand, I make sure that even the least promising prospects start in thirty to forty percent of the games. But in the chart shown above, Davis (a ho-hum prospect) is slated for 13 starts out of every six games. Tobias, far more promising, will start in four out of six.

This example is from an online league that is currently in the off season, so I can't check the results of the bench coach's scheme right now. If I have spare time in the next day or two, I'll set up a solo league to test it.

BaseballATeam · 04-08-2026, 02:21 PM

Just eyeballing the image, that looks reasonable. J. Davis, for instance, is a starting utility man.

Granted, it takes the right personnel to justify a depth chart of this nature, so if EVERY team is doing it, it's a little hinky.

I usually don't pay any mind to my minors depth charts, so I gave mine a little sniff. They look like the one you posted, but everything seems on the up-and-up.

TomVeal · 04-08-2026, 11:31 PM

But in a season of, say, 140 games, Davis cannot start in 1,820 games, as the depth chart, read literally, requires.

locuspc · 04-09-2026, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomVeal

But in a season of, say, 140 games, Davis cannot start in 1,820 games, as the depth chart, read literally, requires.

Good news! He won't.

BaseballATeam · 04-09-2026, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomVeal

But in a season of, say, 140 games, Davis cannot start in 1,820 games, as the depth chart, read literally, requires.

Look, I'm not trying to be dismissive of your problem, but try to be a little less rigid. This is a valid depth chart, it's just not laid out the way *you* would do it. He will play whenever he's not tired at a position to be named later.

kidd_05_u2 · 04-09-2026, 11:18 AM

I think we all understand that the depth chart looks odd or even wrong, but what really matters is how it plays out.

There may well be a real problem where subs end up playing more often than starters, but it's just hard to tell from a snapshot of this depth chart, especially when nearly all the players in the team appear to be equally good.

Tiger1022 · 04-09-2026, 11:54 AM

I understand what you're saying that this looks weird and it's physically impossible for him play 13 games in 6 days. But I do think you're looking at it the wrong way. Obviously he's not going to play 2 positions every day. That's ridiculous. But when looking at his overall profile....at a 46 OVR he's likely an MLB bench player. They're getting him playing time at 4 different positions, plus DHing him....which is completely the right move with a guy like that. And when it comes to the outfielders, honestly, he SHOULD be playing more often than most of them. He's tied for the highest overall AND has the 2nd highest potential of all of them...him getting starting level ABs isn't blocking anyone who needs them more.

I'd probably set this up more where he plays every 3rd-6th games at those positions...but this still does work. It'll function and end up looking like in a 140 game season, he plays about 130 of them and gets 500 or so PAs. About what a guy like him should get.

Hrycaj · 04-09-2026, 11:55 AM

This is one area of the game where I think it is really hard to truly mimic reality too closely. IF development opportunities are triggered by both PA's for hitters and BF's for arms then why would I want to limit any opportunities for any prospect I believe in? In real life when you are dealing with real people you will see depth charts that are fluid. However, I'm not sure that makes sense from a game perspective in relation to development opportunities. Unless that is not how the game engine works.

TomVeal · 04-09-2026, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger1022

I understand what you're saying that this looks weird and it's physically impossible for him play 13 games in 6 days. But I do think you're looking at it the wrong way. Obviously he's not going to play 2 positions every day. That's ridiculous. But when looking at his overall profile....at a 46 OVR he's likely an MLB bench player. They're getting him playing time at 4 different positions, plus DHing him....which is completely the right move with a guy like that. And when it comes to the outfielders, honestly, he SHOULD be playing more often than most of them. He's tied for the highest overall AND has the 2nd highest potential of all of them...him getting starting level ABs isn't blocking anyone who needs them more.

I'd probably set this up more where he plays every 3rd-6th games at those positions...but this still does work. It'll function and end up looking like in a 140 game season, he plays about 130 of them and gets 500 or so PAs. About what a guy like him should get.

Any theory as to how the game uses this chart? Does it, for instance, give Davis a 50% chance of appearing at one of 1B, LF or CF and a one-third chance of appearing at RF or DH, so that in a season of, say, 120 games, he would start 100 times, 20 at each position (proof left to the reader)? And, if so, how would it then allocate assignments among multiple players? That seems too complicated a process to be practical, but I can't think of a simple one.

kidd_05_u2 · 04-09-2026, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomVeal

Any theory as to how the game uses this chart? Does it, for instance, give Davis a 50% chance of appearing at one of 1B, LF or CF and a one-third chance of appearing at RF or DH, so that in a season of, say, 120 games, he would start 100 times, 20 at each position (proof left to the reader)? And, if so, how would it then allocate assignments among multiple players? That seems too complicated a process to be practical, but I can't think of a simple one.

The beauty and the curse of OOTP is that you never really know with this sort of stuff, and the answer could even change from patch to patch. That is why I've been saying from my first post that we can't tell if this weird depth chart leads to reasonable behavior without testing day by day across a few in-game weeks. It is entirely possible that the depth charts are not working as intended and the substitutes end up playing more often than the starters.

As a MiLB enthusiast, I will gladly test myself when I get the chance.

Syd Thrift · 04-09-2026, 10:36 PM

I am like 95% sure from just playing games out that the game simply goes down the list, sees if a guy is going to start (and "every 4th game" is not "a 25% chance", it's literally "every 4th game"), and once he's replaced he won't turn up lower down. So if you have a guy set to relieve on 2B, 3B, and SS once every other game, in practice he'll relieve 2nd and not touch 3rd and short.

When it's just a big old roster with a lot of guys coming in every 2nd game, etc., the game does a good job of rotating people out.

BaseballATeam · 04-10-2026, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kidd_05_u2

The beauty and the curse of OOTP is that you never really know with this sort of stuff, and the answer could even change from patch to patch. That is why I've been saying from my first post that we can't tell if this weird depth chart leads to reasonable behavior without testing day by day across a few in-game weeks. It is entirely possible that the depth charts are not working as intended and the substitutes end up playing more often than the starters.

As a MiLB enthusiast, I will gladly test myself when I get the chance.

I can confirm that my similar minor league depth charts have led to desirable playing time. All those 40-45 PV/FV depth guys play 80% while the few high FV guys play whenever fresh.

millhousebc · 04-12-2026, 07:09 PM

wasn't there a box to select if you wanted potential to override current ratings for playing time?

04-07-2026, 09:32 PM	#1
TomVeal All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Spanaway, Washington Posts: 1,260	Ludicrous Depth Charts As of a couple of Builds ago (or maybe earlier; I usually set all the depth charts myself), every minor league bench coach's depth chart looks like the one shown below. Observe, for instance, that J. Davis is scheduled to start in 13 out of every six games. Attached Images

04-08-2026, 10:31 AM	#3
Benz0709 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 68	This is actually accurate to real life. It would be unrealistic if Minor League teams had hard set Depth Charts with players who never see the field. Minor Leagues are intended as developmental leagues and come with a everyone gets playing time mentality IRL, so this actually reflects that properly. I attend a lot of my local A+ team in the Brewers organization, lineup is different literally every night, exception being top prospects such as Jackson Chourio and Jesus Made would play every night when they came through. Currently have Luis Pena on the roster who is #23 in top 100 prospects, he's already sat a game and they've only played 3. Example of this in your image. Based on Potential, i'm assuming Tobias is the top prospect. He's scheduled to start every game unless tired or Qi starting every 3rd game if he isn't starting the 4th game at 3B. Last edited by Benz0709; 04-08-2026 at 10:44 AM.

04-09-2026, 11:55 AM	#11
Hrycaj All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,803	This is one area of the game where I think it is really hard to truly mimic reality too closely. IF development opportunities are triggered by both PA's for hitters and BF's for arms then why would I want to limit any opportunities for any prospect I believe in? In real life when you are dealing with real people you will see depth charts that are fluid. However, I'm not sure that makes sense from a game perspective in relation to development opportunities. Unless that is not how the game engine works. __________________ Click on my signature to read about the great game of baseball in Normington.

04-07-2026, 10:44 PM	#2
kidd_05_u2 All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 628	Minor league teams rotate a lot, and I think there was a recent change to how lineups are set because OOTP managers were not rotating at all. I would be interested to see how this plays out. Are Davis and Potter actually starting more often than the starters over a two or three-week sample of games?

04-08-2026, 11:04 AM	#4
TomVeal All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Spanaway, Washington Posts: 1,260	Of course. When I set up minor league depth charts by hand, I make sure that even the least promising prospects start in thirty to forty percent of the games. But in the chart shown above, Davis (a ho-hum prospect) is slated for 13 starts out of every six games. Tobias, far more promising, will start in four out of six. This example is from an online league that is currently in the off season, so I can't check the results of the bench coach's scheme right now. If I have spare time in the next day or two, I'll set up a solo league to test it.

04-08-2026, 02:21 PM	#5
BaseballATeam Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2020 Posts: 150	Just eyeballing the image, that looks reasonable. J. Davis, for instance, is a starting utility man. Granted, it takes the right personnel to justify a depth chart of this nature, so if EVERY team is doing it, it's a little hinky. I usually don't pay any mind to my minors depth charts, so I gave mine a little sniff. They look like the one you posted, but everything seems on the up-and-up.

04-08-2026, 11:31 PM	#6
TomVeal All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Spanaway, Washington Posts: 1,260	But in a season of, say, 140 games, Davis cannot start in 1,820 games, as the depth chart, read literally, requires.

04-09-2026, 11:18 AM	#9
kidd_05_u2 All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 628	I think we all understand that the depth chart looks odd or even wrong, but what really matters is how it plays out. There may well be a real problem where subs end up playing more often than starters, but it's just hard to tell from a snapshot of this depth chart, especially when nearly all the players in the team appear to be equally good.

04-09-2026, 11:54 AM	#10
Tiger1022 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2026 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 9	I understand what you're saying that this looks weird and it's physically impossible for him play 13 games in 6 days. But I do think you're looking at it the wrong way. Obviously he's not going to play 2 positions every day. That's ridiculous. But when looking at his overall profile....at a 46 OVR he's likely an MLB bench player. They're getting him playing time at 4 different positions, plus DHing him....which is completely the right move with a guy like that. And when it comes to the outfielders, honestly, he SHOULD be playing more often than most of them. He's tied for the highest overall AND has the 2nd highest potential of all of them...him getting starting level ABs isn't blocking anyone who needs them more. I'd probably set this up more where he plays every 3rd-6th games at those positions...but this still does work. It'll function and end up looking like in a 140 game season, he plays about 130 of them and gets 500 or so PAs. About what a guy like him should get.

04-12-2026, 07:09 PM	#16
millhousebc Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 356	wasn't there a box to select if you wanted potential to override current ratings for playing time?