Scouting Recommendations During Draft (Arbitrary?)

jcmurr · 03-27-2019, 03:01 AM

Most of the times with a good scout, the recommendations they offer make sense during the first-year player draft. However, there's one issue that's come up several times that makes me question if the scout AI is flawed somewhere or if his recommendations are just arbitrary.

This is the situation:

Round 5:
Scout recommends Player A
I select different player

Round 6:
With Player A still available and having drafted a completely different position in Round 5, Scout recommends Player B.
I select different player.

Round 7:
Scout recommends Player A again, after I draft different player from the same position in Round 6

I normally draft completely on my own, but the scout actually is useful (IMO) once you get into the early/middle rounds. Anyone have any insight on how this works?

Silfir · 03-27-2019, 05:15 AM

I imagine it has to do with the players you actually drafted. For instance, if player A is a pitcher, and the player you picked instead was also a pitcher, your organization is now up 1 pitcher in Round 6 compared to before, and as a result player A looks slightly less valuable than player B now. In Round 7, player B is either not available anymore (you didn't mention if you checked that) or the player you picked in Round 6 (a batter, in this example) made player A look slightly more valuable again.

That's my best guess anyway - the AI definitely weighs the needs of the organization in terms of position, otherwise it would invariably end up with abominal Rookie League rosters with ten catchers and one outfielder and stuff like that.

jcmurr · 03-27-2019, 07:42 AM

That's what I thought; however, the organizational needs in my example stayed the same from round-to-round as I drafted a different position (batter vs. SP in this case).

The SP should have still been the best overall pick if the AI valued him the round before.

In any case, I'm wondering generally how much stock everyone puts into scouting recommendations or if I should completely disregard them altogether. (I pick my own players rounds 1-5 normally, but am talking mostly about rounds 6-10)

Thanks!

TPinrose · 03-27-2019, 08:20 AM

I use them for the most part. I play online so I'm drafting against human beings and there are time constraints. Half of my leagues have no POT/OVR ratings.

In the 1st I will ask the scout for their picks for the round as a data point. I then make a decision on a player. In the 2nd and 3rd, I usually work down the list for players I'm in agreement with. After that, I'm simply taking the player with the best ratings. Anywhere from the 5th to the 7th, I let the scout take over.

03-27-2019, 03:01 AM	#1
jcmurr Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 31	Scouting Recommendations During Draft (Arbitrary?) Most of the times with a good scout, the recommendations they offer make sense during the first-year player draft. However, there's one issue that's come up several times that makes me question if the scout AI is flawed somewhere or if his recommendations are just arbitrary. This is the situation: Round 5: Scout recommends Player A I select different player Round 6: With Player A still available and having drafted a completely different position in Round 5, Scout recommends Player B. I select different player. Round 7: Scout recommends Player A again, after I draft different player from the same position in Round 6 I normally draft completely on my own, but the scout actually is useful (IMO) once you get into the early/middle rounds. Anyone have any insight on how this works?

03-27-2019, 05:15 AM	#2
Silfir Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 138	I imagine it has to do with the players you actually drafted. For instance, if player A is a pitcher, and the player you picked instead was also a pitcher, your organization is now up 1 pitcher in Round 6 compared to before, and as a result player A looks slightly less valuable than player B now. In Round 7, player B is either not available anymore (you didn't mention if you checked that) or the player you picked in Round 6 (a batter, in this example) made player A look slightly more valuable again. That's my best guess anyway - the AI definitely weighs the needs of the organization in terms of position, otherwise it would invariably end up with abominal Rookie League rosters with ten catchers and one outfielder and stuff like that. Last edited by Silfir; 03-27-2019 at 05:17 AM.

03-27-2019, 07:42 AM	#3
jcmurr Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 31	That's what I thought; however, the organizational needs in my example stayed the same from round-to-round as I drafted a different position (batter vs. SP in this case). The SP should have still been the best overall pick if the AI valued him the round before. In any case, I'm wondering generally how much stock everyone puts into scouting recommendations or if I should completely disregard them altogether. (I pick my own players rounds 1-5 normally, but am talking mostly about rounds 6-10) Thanks!

03-27-2019, 08:20 AM	#4
TPinrose Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 199	I use them for the most part. I play online so I'm drafting against human beings and there are time constraints. Half of my leagues have no POT/OVR ratings. In the 1st I will ask the scout for their picks for the round as a data point. I then make a decision on a player. In the 2nd and 3rd, I usually work down the list for players I'm in agreement with. After that, I'm simply taking the player with the best ratings. Anywhere from the 5th to the 7th, I let the scout take over.