Preventing rating loss in young players & correcting poor performance

chort · 05-16-2011, 04:21 PM

I was appalled to see Brett Gardener get off to a good start, increase his average to nearly .300, then take a giant nosedive and lose a couple of points from his contact and gap power values during his first season. Is there any way to reverse that, or prevent it? Does it happen from over-playing, or continued use during slump?

On a similar track, how do I get under-performing players back on track? Phil Hughes was having an awful first season. His ERA was 7 and everything he threw was either a strikeout or a long drive. I sent him to the minors, brought him back up after a couple of months, and his first two games were great, then he had another game where he gave up 4 homeruns (even spaced over 6 innings). He's clearly playing way below his ratings, and they had even increased in the minors! I had some other players with high ratings who had similar disasters. What's the best way to handle it? Demotion? Just trade them?

omgimasian · 05-16-2011, 08:19 PM

Anything can happen in the game, and a player becoming worse over time, and before their prime happens all the time. Scott Kazmir turning from an all star to one of the worst pitchers in the majors being one example.

Another thing to consider is that Hughes was very lucky last season, the number of times the opponent was able to hit his balls did not match up to his ERA.

It's frustrating to have players decrease in rating, but it's an inevitable part of the game. Playing as the Rockies, I've had Ubaldo Jimenez decrease to 21/80 by 2012, and Carlos Gonzalez regress to 38/80 by 2013

And I hope you're not looking at overall ratings. I find Stuff and Movement to be more important than what it says their overall rating is.

Good luck! I'm sure the devs who know the engine could explain this much better than I can.

chort · 05-17-2011, 12:40 AM

Yeah, I pay a lot of attention to the individual ratings. It seems like Movement gives a huge boost to pitches. Stuff seems to indicate the average rating of pitches, and Control is pretty key to not walking the bases full of sub-par players so you can serve up a homerun to Longoria

Lately I'm finding one of the most important ratings for a pitcher is Groundball%.

omgimasian · 05-17-2011, 01:05 AM

I've had a 33/80 closer go a whole season with a 1.12 ERA, racking up 44 saves along the way. I think his movement was 96, while everything else was subpar.

chort · 05-17-2011, 01:24 AM

I don't think I've scored more than 1 run off Brandon Webb in 3 games against him

You might be onto something w/Movement. I just drafted a kid in my second season who has 12 Stuff P/19 Move P/12 Con P (out of 20), so I'll have a chance to test that theory

He has 81% groundball!

magicspeedo · 05-17-2011, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chort

Lately I'm finding one of the most important ratings for a pitcher is Ground ball%.

Agree.

That is how I win. I fill my infield with only players that have at least 15/20 for infield range & infield errors. This also means they are usually pretty fast and good base runners. Which means the top and back of my line up will be filled with excellent base runners who can steal. It really extends the offense.

But the real key is getting a ton of pitchers who get 75% or more ground balls. With an entire (including the corners) infield that can shut down ground balls and a pitcher who gives up ground balls 80% of the time, you will start to completely shut down other teams.

05-16-2011, 04:21 PM	#1
chort Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 91	Preventing rating loss in young players & correcting poor performance I was appalled to see Brett Gardener get off to a good start, increase his average to nearly .300, then take a giant nosedive and lose a couple of points from his contact and gap power values during his first season. Is there any way to reverse that, or prevent it? Does it happen from over-playing, or continued use during slump? On a similar track, how do I get under-performing players back on track? Phil Hughes was having an awful first season. His ERA was 7 and everything he threw was either a strikeout or a long drive. I sent him to the minors, brought him back up after a couple of months, and his first two games were great, then he had another game where he gave up 4 homeruns (even spaced over 6 innings). He's clearly playing way below his ratings, and they had even increased in the minors! I had some other players with high ratings who had similar disasters. What's the best way to handle it? Demotion? Just trade them?

05-16-2011, 08:19 PM	#2
omgimasian Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 184	Anything can happen in the game, and a player becoming worse over time, and before their prime happens all the time. Scott Kazmir turning from an all star to one of the worst pitchers in the majors being one example. Another thing to consider is that Hughes was very lucky last season, the number of times the opponent was able to hit his balls did not match up to his ERA. It's frustrating to have players decrease in rating, but it's an inevitable part of the game. Playing as the Rockies, I've had Ubaldo Jimenez decrease to 21/80 by 2012, and Carlos Gonzalez regress to 38/80 by 2013 And I hope you're not looking at overall ratings. I find Stuff and Movement to be more important than what it says their overall rating is. Good luck! I'm sure the devs who know the engine could explain this much better than I can.

05-17-2011, 12:40 AM	#3
chort Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 91	Yeah, I pay a lot of attention to the individual ratings. It seems like Movement gives a huge boost to pitches. Stuff seems to indicate the average rating of pitches, and Control is pretty key to not walking the bases full of sub-par players so you can serve up a homerun to Longoria Lately I'm finding one of the most important ratings for a pitcher is Groundball%.

05-17-2011, 01:05 AM	#4
omgimasian Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 184	I've had a 33/80 closer go a whole season with a 1.12 ERA, racking up 44 saves along the way. I think his movement was 96, while everything else was subpar.

05-17-2011, 01:24 AM	#5
chort Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 91	I don't think I've scored more than 1 run off Brandon Webb in 3 games against him You might be onto something w/Movement. I just drafted a kid in my second season who has 12 Stuff P/19 Move P/12 Con P (out of 20), so I'll have a chance to test that theory He has 81% groundball!