Favor Ability vs Favor Tool?

drewandpedey · 05-25-2019, 10:45 PM

Do you guys like your scout to favor tool or ability, and why?

jimmysthebestcop · 05-26-2019, 05:00 AM

I like highly favor ability personally. Primarily because it goes with my overall philosophy. I get a lot of major league level players that way. They aren't super stars maybe a couple all stars each year.

But I can build dynasties that way. Especially helps me to absorb injuries when I can basically bring anyone up from my AAA team since they are all major league level too.

Ghost Town · 05-26-2019, 06:04 PM

I prioritize whoever has the best scouting ratings, regardless of their tool/ability preference.

NoOne · 05-27-2019, 02:27 PM

if i am hands-off and letting AI make decisions, i'd choose one or the other -- i honestly forget the effect at this point. one will favor college players a bit (higher initial ability, less to go to reach ceiling etc)? or is it about physical ability where one will favor the speedy/defensive guys a bit more than just con/power/eye ratings? either way... i'd rather the info be given to me unadulterated.

if you make all the roster decisions, you likely will do best with "Neutral" scout. it affects what you see, so it affects your decisions.

do you want the computer dictating how much you favor one or the other, or have it be neutral and make the decisions yourself per individual player?

i don't want my scout inflating overall because it likes certain things more than others... unless those 'things' are strictly about contact/power potential, etc.

if you rely on the AI making some of these choices, you may want to dig deeper into the effects of favoring ability vs tools. i'd want a mix of college and HS draftees (neutral?) or to prefer con/pow/eye over speed/defense etc (ability?) really not 100% sure on the effect and the manual is 100% clear last i read.

Calvert98 · 05-27-2019, 06:33 PM

I will generally go with a scout's ratings too, but all things being equal, I will look to one that favors ability.

NoOne · 05-28-2019, 01:40 AM

if there is 1 scout that is surpemely better than the others, i'd go that route too.

if it's splitting hairs, i go with what will give the most unadultered information i can get. i prefer to do the crunching.

Mat · 05-28-2019, 02:56 AM

Always a scout that favours tools.

If I want to look at ability, I will look at the players stat line.

Mat · 05-28-2019, 02:59 AM

from the manual:

The Scouting Director's preference when it comes to projecting the future potential of players. The projection attribute has five settings: Highly Favor Ability, Favor Ability, Neutral, Favor Tools, and Highly Favor Tools. A Scouting Director that favors ability will base players' potential ratings on what the player can already do and project what he thinks the player will become in the future. The director that favors tools will base the players' potential ratings on the maximum peak the player could achieve. In theory, a scout that favors tools will find more superstars, while a scout that favors ability will find more serviceable major league players.

Shake Appeal · 05-28-2019, 11:29 AM

Philosophically, I prefer having an organization stacked with high-floor guys who can do a lot of things well, so I try to find scouts that Favor Ability. But on balance, I just take the scout with the highest ratings available for scouting amateur and minor league talent.

old fat bald guy · 05-31-2019, 08:03 AM

Isn't team chemistry better if you get rid of the players who are tools?

NoOne · 06-01-2019, 01:35 PM

so, as mat showed it's more about current development and how far they have to go.

basically HS vs college focus, ** most of the time.

i'd still rather the scout not change the potential or overall (whatever it is). i'm sure most of us don't use overall anyway to make decisions, but i'd bet a few sort by it often.

this might cause a double dipping if you already have a bias toward HS or college developed prospects. you see a bloated value on screen that doesn't fully correlate to current/potential ratings for each skill, and you add your own preference on top of that. and, if you ignore it, then it's the same as using neutral, lol.

anyway, i think this is 95% about AI decisions and very little to do with human-made decisions. if you are using overall/potential beyond a superficial way like sorting, you should change player evaluation methods. individual ratings will tell you much more (or associated stats that can paint the picture in hindsight in a stats-only environment. associated pitfalls of 'old' info.)

05-25-2019, 10:45 PM	#1
drewandpedey Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2018 Location: Boston Posts: 158 Blog Entries: 1	Favor Ability vs Favor Tool? Do you guys like your scout to favor tool or ability, and why?

05-27-2019, 06:33 PM	#5
Calvert98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 579	I will generally go with a scout's ratings too, but all things being equal, I will look to one that favors ability. Last edited by Calvert98; 05-28-2019 at 04:06 AM. Reason: typo

05-26-2019, 05:00 AM	#2
jimmysthebestcop Banned Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 1,728 Infractions: 0/2 (5)	I like highly favor ability personally. Primarily because it goes with my overall philosophy. I get a lot of major league level players that way. They aren't super stars maybe a couple all stars each year. But I can build dynasties that way. Especially helps me to absorb injuries when I can basically bring anyone up from my AAA team since they are all major league level too.

05-26-2019, 06:04 PM	#3
Ghost Town Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2016 Posts: 52	I prioritize whoever has the best scouting ratings, regardless of their tool/ability preference.

05-27-2019, 02:27 PM	#4
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	if i am hands-off and letting AI make decisions, i'd choose one or the other -- i honestly forget the effect at this point. one will favor college players a bit (higher initial ability, less to go to reach ceiling etc)? or is it about physical ability where one will favor the speedy/defensive guys a bit more than just con/power/eye ratings? either way... i'd rather the info be given to me unadulterated. if you make all the roster decisions, you likely will do best with "Neutral" scout. it affects what you see, so it affects your decisions. do you want the computer dictating how much you favor one or the other, or have it be neutral and make the decisions yourself per individual player? i don't want my scout inflating overall because it likes certain things more than others... unless those 'things' are strictly about contact/power potential, etc. if you rely on the AI making some of these choices, you may want to dig deeper into the effects of favoring ability vs tools. i'd want a mix of college and HS draftees (neutral?) or to prefer con/pow/eye over speed/defense etc (ability?) really not 100% sure on the effect and the manual is 100% clear last i read.

05-28-2019, 01:40 AM	#6
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	if there is 1 scout that is surpemely better than the others, i'd go that route too. if it's splitting hairs, i go with what will give the most unadultered information i can get. i prefer to do the crunching.

05-28-2019, 02:56 AM	#7
Mat All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 651	Always a scout that favours tools. If I want to look at ability, I will look at the players stat line.

05-28-2019, 02:59 AM	#8
Mat All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 651	from the manual: The Scouting Director's preference when it comes to projecting the future potential of players. The projection attribute has five settings: Highly Favor Ability, Favor Ability, Neutral, Favor Tools, and Highly Favor Tools. A Scouting Director that favors ability will base players' potential ratings on what the player can already do and project what he thinks the player will become in the future. The director that favors tools will base the players' potential ratings on the maximum peak the player could achieve. In theory, a scout that favors tools will find more superstars, while a scout that favors ability will find more serviceable major league players.

05-28-2019, 11:29 AM	#9
Shake Appeal Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 104	Philosophically, I prefer having an organization stacked with high-floor guys who can do a lot of things well, so I try to find scouts that Favor Ability. But on balance, I just take the scout with the highest ratings available for scouting amateur and minor league talent.

05-31-2019, 08:03 AM	#10
old fat bald guy Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 220	Isn't team chemistry better if you get rid of the players who are tools?

06-01-2019, 01:35 PM	#11
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	so, as mat showed it's more about current development and how far they have to go. basically HS vs college focus, ** most of the time. i'd still rather the scout not change the potential or overall (whatever it is). i'm sure most of us don't use overall anyway to make decisions, but i'd bet a few sort by it often. this might cause a double dipping if you already have a bias toward HS or college developed prospects. you see a bloated value on screen that doesn't fully correlate to current/potential ratings for each skill, and you add your own preference on top of that. and, if you ignore it, then it's the same as using neutral, lol. anyway, i think this is 95% about AI decisions and very little to do with human-made decisions. if you are using overall/potential beyond a superficial way like sorting, you should change player evaluation methods. individual ratings will tell you much more (or associated stats that can paint the picture in hindsight in a stats-only environment. associated pitfalls of 'old' info.)