Road to Release Part 7: Pitching Model Changes

[NomarHits400]

Originally Posted by injury log

I don't understand what you mean by 'cosmetic'. In OOTP-12, half of the High School pitchers in the Amateur Draft threw only 2 pitches. In OOTP-13, 99% of them throw at least three pitches. Even when the third pitch has poor potential, it will often develop into a usable pitch that can allow the pitcher to be an SP in the Majors. I don't see how that's a 'cosmetic' difference; it's a fundamental change to the pitching model.

Interesting. I am using feeder leagues- so perhaps this makes a difference- but I hope not. I just had my first amateur draft and I noticed that many of the top pitching prospects (this would have been a mixture of College and High School players) were listed as SP- but still only had 2 pitches- and their prospective futures were listed as "bullpen".

Obviously this isn't meant to pass as an exhaustive look at the new pitching model- and I hope my initial impressions were just incomplete- or incorrect.

What I meant- though, was that what I have seen so far isn't what you are describing; so I characterized the changes as simply cosmetic. I will pay closer attention to the next draft class and report what I find.

[injury log]

Oh, yes, with feeders I don't know what the situation is like. I'm not sure what Markus did about feeder league player creation, so it's possible your results will look different. I was talking about generated draft classes in leagues without feeders.

[LordTC]

I think a lot of this problem largely relates to how the pitchers are evaluated. When you setup the league to rate players across all positions the players who are rated the highest are often the best MR's. Lot's of the AI decisions and salary theory could be fixed if the MR's end up getting downgraded appropriately relative to top pitches/players.

[Pacoheadley]

Originally Posted by NomarHits400

Interesting. I am using feeder leagues- so perhaps this makes a difference- but I hope not. I just had my first amateur draft and I noticed that many of the top pitching prospects (this would have been a mixture of College and High School players) were listed as SP- but still only had 2 pitches- and their prospective futures were listed as "bullpen".

Obviously this isn't meant to pass as an exhaustive look at the new pitching model- and I hope my initial impressions were just incomplete- or incorrect.

What I meant- though, was that what I have seen so far isn't what you are describing; so I characterized the changes as simply cosmetic. I will pay closer attention to the next draft class and report what I find.

I'm thinking the new pitching model makes it more likely for these 2 pitch starters to learn another pitch, although I am not sure on that yet.

[NomarHits400]

Originally Posted by Pacoheadley

I'm thinking the new pitching model makes it more likely for these 2 pitch starters to learn another pitch, although I am not sure on that yet.

Yes- I am hoping Markus can comment here- because it looks like SOMETHING has changed using feeders. For example, I am noticing much fewer 4-5 star MR prospects. Really only 3-5 on my last draft- where there were dozens before.

That would stink if using Feeder league's nullified the benefits of this new pitching system.

[Marinersfan51]

In feeder leagues pitchers can start with only two pitches and this is the same in the low minors, this leads to pitchers who are relievers long term starting games in high school and then retaining the label into the draft. I don't know if the feeder league pitcher creation was tweaked as well, but even if it was there would still be two pitch pitchers being labeled as starters.

[Illini Boy]

I can honestly say that this feature works almost to perfection. I'm in year four in my MLB quick start, and I've had over 10 relievers/closers drafted that have learned a new pitch and look to be good starting pitchers. In the first draft of my league there was a closer named Drew Bly. He threw a sick fastball/slider combo. He had fantastic stuff, movement, and control. However, he had a 14 stamina so I pretty much figured he would only be a relief pitcher. I brought him up in year three to try to help my bullpen, but he pitched awful and was sent down. I brought him up in year four, and he now has a 20/20 curveball and is a possibly Cy Young winner. I love this feature.

[ike121212]

Originally Posted by Illini Boy

I can honestly say that this feature works almost to perfection. I'm in year four in my MLB quick start, and I've had over 10 relievers/closers drafted that have learned a new pitch and look to be good starting pitchers. In the first draft of my league there was a closer named Drew Bly. He threw a sick fastball/slider combo. He had fantastic stuff, movement, and control. However, he had a 14 stamina so I pretty much figured he would only be a relief pitcher. I brought him up in year three to try to help my bullpen, but he pitched awful and was sent down. I brought him up in year four, and he now has a 20/20 curveball and is a possibly Cy Young winner. I love this feature.

Your luck is much better than mine. I took over a team as sort of a minor league director last night and simmed 10 seasons. Each year, I drafted 3-5 young high endurance prospects, with either 2 pitches or 2 + a very low rated third pitch. I then locked them, forced them into SP roles, and managed their promotions. Of the 40'ish prospects, 0 developed a third pitch. Granted, it's a small sample size, but it was a little discouraging.

I'd like to think that an 18 year old prospect, starting in the low minors, is more likely to develop a third pitch than a 26 year old MLB closer. So far, I suspect they have the same chance. Overall, it's much better than 12, but I was hoping for more.