Drafting Help

[Hockey13Playa]

Like the title says, looking for drafting help. What's the best way to find those hidden gems? Or the best quality/available player. Or the most guaranteed. Any drafting strategies or suggestions I'm all ears!

[turakm]

Originally Posted by Hockey13Playa

Like the title says, looking for drafting help. What's the best way to find those hidden gems? Or the best quality/available player. Or the most guaranteed. Any drafting strategies or suggestions I'm all ears!

When it comes to starting pitchers, always see how many different pitches they can throw. The more the better.
And if a MR has more than 2 pitches and decent stamina, sometimes they can jump to a SP.
for position players, I always look for power guys. Even when a player is 3 1/2 stars, they can have good power and bring runs.
hope that helps a bit!

[MooseMichaels]

Potential doesn't always translate to results in the field just like in real life. I tend to go for trades to upgrade. In my fictional league I have a batter who is a 6 time MVP and an 7 time triple crown winner. Had to empty the farm to get him but he led my Sluggers to 5 consecutive World Series wins. And he got 6 of those triple crowns while with my team.

[Hockey13Playa]

Thanks to both of you for the responses. I guess drafting is frustrating because after the first round is over everyone is a half or one star rating and or potential. I feelmasmif you can't draft hidden gems... It's irritating that the amount of draftable players equals the exact amount of draft picks too. Shouldn't there be extra undrafted players? I feel as if you don't have a top 10 pick your almost gaurnteed junk in this game!

[magicspeedo]

1st round look for SP first (they must have stamina and at least three good pitches). Next look for dominant hitters. Not just power.
2nd round look for a dominant closer first. Next look for power hitters.
3rd round look for power hitters first, then look for bullpen guys.
4/5 round look for amazing defensive players.

If you are drafting well you should be able to trade for the top prospects every year without having to give up everything.

[Hockey13Playa]

I don't want to exploit the game by collecting picks then trading and having stacked teams but I appreciate the feedback!

[acclaim99]

There are deffintely gems. I've had 4th round Cy's and MVP's a lot

[magicspeedo]

Originally Posted by Hockey13Playa

I don't want to exploit the game by collecting picks then trading and having stacked teams but I appreciate the feedback!

exploiting the game? You mean making legal trades for better players? Have fun with that mediocre franchise

[relrel1809]

Lol @magicspeedo man my teams sucked for years and i hated it lol

[relrel1809]

But magic everything you said about the draft i do myself, especially the 5th round i need that defensive utility guy that can play 6 positions.

[McGuiser]

If drafting is frustrating, just let the AI do its thing after the first few rounds.

I do not do that myself, because there are certain kinds of players that I absolutely do not want: (a) guys who cannot defend decently, and (b) low-stamina pitchers.

I never draft either type.

You might consider this gaming the system, but you can trade for a player immediately after he is drafted. Just leave the draft screen and head to the trading screen. In real life, no team would likely trade the number one pick right away, of course, but games are not real life.

As an experiment, I did this once with a good team in its third season (iOOTP11) and ended up with most of the top ten picks that year -- that built a powerhouse that lasted.

[Disco Dog 13]

Originally Posted by McGuiser

If drafting is frustrating, just let the AI do its thing after the first few rounds.

I do not do that myself, because there are certain kinds of players that I absolutely do not want: (a) guys who cannot defend decently, and (b) low-stamina pitchers.

I never draft either type.

You might consider this gaming the system, but you can trade for a player immediately after he is drafted. Just leave the draft screen and head to the trading screen. In real life, no team would likely trade the number one pick right away, of course, but games are not real life.

As an experiment, I did this once with a good team in its third season (iOOTP11) and ended up with most of the top ten picks that year -- that built a powerhouse that lasted.

I thought they had to be at the new team for a year until you can trade for them ?

[McGuiser]

. . . trading for newly-drafted players was enabled in iOOTP11.

Sorry 'bout that. I assume this does not work in 12 and I know it does not work in 13. Time to migrate my season to 12 or 13.

[relrel1809]

How do you guys get gems out of 4th and 5th rounders? I would love a decent #5 starter lol

[Pat Gillick]

And if a MR has more than 2 pitches and decent stamina, sometimes they can jump to a SP.

This is great advice. You should do this,and not just in drafting, but look for young relievers in the league who can throw 3+ pitches with good potential and have good stamina and seek to trade for them. Sometimes these guys don't even have a great "star" rating. I have had a number of eventually dominant starters which I acquired this way.

2nd round look for a dominant closer first.

I wouldn't limit which round I look for what types of players, but generally the game does not rate relievers and closers as highly as starters and position players and will draft position players who are unlikely to be anything more than back-ups, at best, in preference to available relievers who can be significant contributors. This is much less pronounced in 2013 than it was in 2012, but a good strategy after the first round can still be to select high potential relievers. In a few years these players can also be valuable pieces in trades. Again, this is much less the case in 2013, which values prospects much higher than 2012.


Generally in later rounds you are not likely to pick up players that are going to turn in to significant contributors. I tend to look for players who can be functional back ups, like players with good defensive ratings across multiple positions, or other types of players that the computer seems to like in terms of trade value, such as starting pitchers.

[GoOs]

I like to trade for good relievers in the last year of their contract at the trade deadline. I don't resign them, and each draft I have 6-8 extra picks on the 1st-3rd rounds. Love the supplemental round. 2 picks for each cheap reliever.

[relrel1809]

Nice im gonna try that!

[relrel1809]

Ok i have a question...when drafting starters how much of an emphasis do you put on the main 3 categories over their pitch stats? Meaning would you take a guy with 5 pitches in the 40's and 50's (100 point scale), with the main 3 in the 70's over a guy with 4 pitches in the 70's but his main 3 in the 40's and 50's?? Thats always a dilemma to me..

[GoOs]

I usually go by the Stuff/Movement/Control as long as the pitcher has 3+ yellow pitches and good stamina.

[JoseB]

Originally Posted by Hockey13Playa

Like the title says, looking for drafting help. What's the best way to find those hidden gems? Or the best quality/available player. Or the most guaranteed. Any drafting strategies or suggestions I'm all ears!

My first suggestion is to adjust all ratings/potential numbers to 1-100 and 1-80, which will give you the most insight into where a drafted player could end up.

If you're picking high, select the player with the highest current rating. If you're in the middle rounds, filter by Potential and then look at each player's hitting/pitching ratings. If a pitcher is showing 37 control rating with a 42 control potential, he's always going to be wild and give up a lot of walks.

Secondly, most batters are a trade-off between hitting ability and speed, and you should also look at Potential/Ratings as an indicator of potential success.

My overall strategy is to always take the best pitcher available in the high rounds, and then the highest potential pitcher in the middle/low rounds. Then the pitching prospects can be traded for hitting prospects. Don't select a batter unless you are in the top-ten overall picks and he already has a high overall rating (not potential).