Budget Baller picks?

[OMGPuppies]

Originally Posted by Thornbreaker

Since he dropped to Silver this week, Daniel Murphy.

I have him at 1st base for the Totallers; he gets replaced in late innings for defense.

However, he has consistently hit around .300 for me, including PL last week. And he started PL on Monday with a .345 avg.

My ballpark is set to contact/gap.


Aparicio is my utility back up, having added Lou Boudreau late last week. If Lou doesn't start hitting a bit better, I may sell him and grab an upgrade elsewhere while putting Aparicio back in as a starter.


Ironically, I've had good results from Furcal on my Braves team (Bakery). He's consistently hitting and swiping bags, but that error rate hurts a bit. Aren't many high Def SS's for Atlanta (outside of guys like Simmons who is an Angels card).
Soroka who I picked up as a Silver is now a Gold, but he hasn't been as solid as he was in PT19. However, he keeps playing like he is, they'll need to do a bit of adjusting those starting assumptions if you ask me. He should have at least still had a future legend card.

I had some.fun with a contact and gap team, but it seemed like all those guys were horrendous at defense. Looks like you and I are in a league together btw.

[Magus978]

I've compiled a list of bronze recommendations for those of you deciding to go the cheap route with your roster. I will be happy to release it to the public if there's any interest.

I'm also giving thought to compiling a proper position by position list of good budget silvers.

Budget in this case being less than 500 points for a bronze, and 1,000 points for a silver. Obviously you won't see Luis Aparicio or Mike LaValliere on these lists, but you'll see some very serviceable talents.

[GlassGuyBob]

Billy Herman 2B has been putting up 6+ WAR seasons for my FTP team that keeps getting super unlucky in the Bronze level playoffs. I imagine he can still be adequate at least up to Gold.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Magus978

Rettenmund looks like a good platoon candidate against lefties.

He is. I have used him for a while (and still do) in a platoon role and leading off at that. Has a .387 OBP in about 1,500 PA at the Diamond level for me. Too bad he doesn't have a sliver of speed.

[CrazyWR]

Has Joe Vosmik been mentioned? he kills lefties

[Thornbreaker]

Originally Posted by OMGPuppies

I had some.fun with a contact and gap team, but it seemed like all those guys were horrendous at defense. Looks like you and I are in a league together btw.

My worst def is Murphy on that gap/contact team. Brooks Robinson - Bronze backs him up. Ichiro, 2016 Mookie, Bobby Tompson run the outfield. Inf is Boudreau, Boggs, and FL Nick Senze, Posey w/ Mike L, Bronze T. Gwynn, and Aparicio on backup. Not a perfect defense but currently top half in the PL. Lloyd Moseby is my DH, so it's time to upgrade him or Posey for a better contact/gap hitter.


Silver team is geared toward hr/walks. Still a major work in progress, but might be doing well enough now to make it up to gold. My SPs started off hot for once. Good luck to you!

[<Pion>]

Originally Posted by Magus978

Budget in this case being less than 500 points for a bronze, and 1,000 points for a silver. Obviously you won't see Luis Aparicio or Mike LaValliere on these lists, but you'll see some very serviceable talents.

Picked up LaValliere today for 1000PP, so he might be in the range you're using now.

[nickwatic]

Silver Historical all star Miguel Cabrera is consistently my best player on my F2P team

[mlwestman]

Originally Posted by <Pion>

Picked up LaValliere today for 1000PP, so he might be in the range you're using now.

Looks like his new price. Several for sale at that price earlier today

[Magus978]

LaValliere at 1,000 points still doesn't make my bronze budget qualifications (500 points or less), but is well worth it, so he does come highly recommended.

[stl jason]

some bronze/silver players still on my squad:

CF/RF - Stan Spence (76) - last 7 price=290 - a decent CF if that's what you need; he trains up nicely in RF (I believe he's at 88 there now for me) to give you a solid defender there with range/error/arm of 69/82/96... he should score you some 'gunning them down' achievements during the year... pretty decent ratings at the plate as well (68 / 65 / 57 / 53 / 76)

1B - Frank McCormick (68) - last 7 price=26 - position rating of 88 at 1B, he has 1 Great Glove award for me; solid bat at the plate as well (67 / 71 / 55 / 43 / 80)... still my everyday first baseman

LF - Stan Musial (68) - last 7 price=43 - not the best defense (58 rating, 56/59/32), but not going to embarrass you out there either... nice bat for a bronze at 68 / 81 / 41 / 56 / 72... still my everyday left fielder

CF/SS - Peanuts Lowrey (62) - last 7 price=44 - for a bronze card, this guy is a solid super utility player, and can also be your every day CF if needed with an 81 position rating there and 86/72/76 for range/error/arm)... he won a Great Glove award for me as a CF... bat is nothing spectacular, but can hold his own in lower leagues (59 / 71 / 4 / 36 / 75)... as a backup, he can play every position but pitcher and catcher.

[Magus978]

Originally Posted by stl jason

some bronze/silver players still on my squad:

CF/RF - Stan Spence (76) - last 7 price=290 - a decent CF if that's what you need; he trains up nicely in RF (I believe he's at 88 there now for me) to give you a solid defender there with range/error/arm of 69/82/96... he should score you some 'gunning them down' achievements during the year... pretty decent ratings at the plate as well (68 / 65 / 57 / 53 / 76)

1B - Frank McCormick (68) - last 7 price=26 - position rating of 88 at 1B, he has 1 Great Glove award for me; solid bat at the plate as well (67 / 71 / 55 / 43 / 80)... still my everyday first baseman

LF - Stan Musial (68) - last 7 price=43 - not the best defense (58 rating, 56/59/32), but not going to embarrass you out there either... nice bat for a bronze at 68 / 81 / 41 / 56 / 72... still my everyday left fielder

CF/SS - Peanuts Lowrey (62) - last 7 price=44 - for a bronze card, this guy is a solid super utility player, and can also be your every day CF if needed with an 81 position rating there and 86/72/76 for range/error/arm)... he won a Great Glove award for me as a CF... bat is nothing spectacular, but can hold his own in lower leagues (59 / 71 / 4 / 36 / 75)... as a backup, he can play every position but pitcher and catcher.

I like how McCormick looks. Too bad there aren't any on the auction house right now. Wouldn't mind picking him up as a DH. Peanuts Lowrey's been someone I've wanted to pick up for awhile, but the batting ratings stop me from doing so and the fact that I already have enough multi-purpose outfielders. However, the decent infield defense ratings have me considering it.

I had the bronze Musial for a bit. Never hit for me, so got rid of it. Stan Spence looks really good though, but sadly he won't qualify for my all-NL team

EDIT: Just got Lowrey for 40 points. Should be okay insurance to have in case my other guys get into a slump.

[GlassGuyBob]

That was my Lowrey. I opened an extra. I hope he performs for you.

[Dogberry99]

Originally Posted by GlassGuyBob

That was my Lowrey. I opened an extra. I hope he performs for you.

He should perform, but understand what constitutes reasonable expectations for him. He will never be a star, but there are not many other bronze cards that can do everything he does.

I love having Lowery as a versatile 3rd bench option behind an IF and an OF specific option. The fact that he can man CF competently helps open up a lot more options for that other bench OF spot. Plus, I like his speed ratings well enough for my purposes.

[Magus978]

Originally Posted by Dogberry99

He should perform, but understand what constitutes reasonable expectations for him. He will never be a star, but there are not many other bronze cards that can do everything he does.

I love having Lowery as a versatile 3rd bench option behind an IF and an OF specific option. The fact that he can man CF competently helps open up a lot more options for that other bench OF spot. Plus, I like his speed ratings well enough for my purposes.

If he ever gets a shot for me, which may be more likely than anyone thinks, my expectations are around .260, get on base as much as he can, provide defensive cover everywhere possible. Train up some ratings at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and the corner outfield positions.

I have several of these type players already, just waiting for an excuse to bring'em in, like a prolonged slump.

[stl jason]

Originally Posted by Magus978

If he ever gets a shot for me, which may be more likely than anyone thinks, my expectations are around .260, get on base as much as he can, provide defensive cover everywhere possible. Train up some ratings at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and the corner outfield positions.

I have several of these type players already, just waiting for an excuse to bring'em in, like a prolonged slump.

looking back at my own experience with Lowrey, in 3 seasons as a starter for the full year, his worst average was .243 and best was .270, so not tearing the cover off the ball, but not struggling to bat his weight either

[<Pion>]

Originally Posted by Magus978

LaValliere at 1,000 points still doesn't make my bronze budget qualifications (500 points or less), but is well worth it, so he does come highly recommended.

Understandable, but what I don't understand is having a 1000 budget on silver but being unwilling to pay that much for a bronze that is worth a silver player. Lava is being used in Perfect Leagues, so limiting to 500 for a bronze player of his caliber seems odd unless it is just some arbitrary "house rules" you're imposing on your team.

[Magus978]

Originally Posted by <Pion>

Understandable, but what I don't understand is having a 1000 budget on silver but being unwilling to pay that much for a bronze that is worth a silver player. Lava is being used in Perfect Leagues, so limiting to 500 for a bronze player of his caliber seems odd unless it is just some arbitrary "house rules" you're imposing on your team.

I bought LaValliere for 925, so I don't think you're being fair here. Bronzes are cheaper by nature, that's why I said no less than 500 as a "budget" bronze. Everyone has their own definition of "budget player", so draw your own conclusions. Those figures were just my definitions of the term "budget player".

[Charlatan]

Has Willie Wilson been mentioned yet? He's a 67 OVR (I think), and I have seen him being used in Silver leagues if I recall correctly (and his slash line was acceptable - not great, but not Mendoza-like). You could certainly do worse than to trot him out as an everyday outfielder. I don't recall him being terribly expensive either - something like 40-50 PP.

[<Pion>]

Originally Posted by Magus978

I bought LaValliere for 925, so I don't think you're being fair here. Bronzes are cheaper by nature, that's why I said no less than 500 as a "budget" bronze. Everyone has their own definition of "budget player", so draw your own conclusions. Those figures were just my definitions of the term "budget player".

Unfair when I'm addressing your "qualifications"? Seems like the point still stands regardless of whether it is self-imposed qualifications or qualifications you're using for the purpose of your post. My main point is that qualifications applied on player overall rating can be very misleading as is the case for Lava. I'll take Bronze Lava over the majority of silvers at 1000 and under.