Advice to improve an individual's defense?

OrbisEuler · 08-23-2019, 01:31 PM

Playing a fictional league and there is no DH. My 3rd basemen is an incredible offensive player but he's at best mediocre at 3rd base. OSA has him as a 50(20-80) at 3rd while my scout has him at 45(20-80). It's July 9th and he's at -5 ZR. In the last game we played he made a very costly error and it's starting to become common place. Is there anything I can do to improve his defense at 3rd base?

Argonaut · 08-23-2019, 02:00 PM

I don't think there's anything you can do to improve defense (aside from editing in commissioner mode).

3B is a decent spot to have a good hitter and weaker fielder though. 45-50 defense is not too bad. -5 ZR is only costing you half a win (although it sounds like he may have cost you a "real" win).

If you can find another more defensive 3B option that you like, and your current 3B is a better hitter than your 1B, you can move your 3B to 1B.

OrbisEuler · 08-23-2019, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argonaut

I don't think there's anything you can do to improve defense (aside from editing in commissioner mode).

3B is a decent spot to have a good hitter and weaker fielder though. 45-50 defense is not too bad. -5 ZR is only costing you half a win (although it sounds like he may have cost you a "real" win).

If you can find another more defensive 3B option that you like, and your current 3B is a better hitter than your 1B, you can move your 3B to 1B.

I know that -5 ZR isn't bad right now. But this is his 3rd year in the league. The 1st year he was +.02 ZR, 2nd year was -2.8, and only halfway through year 3 it's -5. I worry less about how he's costing me wins in 1960 but rather how he'll be costing me wins in 1963. Good to know there isn't anything I can do. I wish there was some kind of lobby feature so that you can lobby for a DH.

Argonaut · 08-23-2019, 02:46 PM

Interesting, are you just leaving league evolution to the AI? Or going historical? If the latter, then the DH will come in 1973. Well, at least to the AL... but if you're fictional I don't know how that would work.

It leaves some interesting managing decisions though. Like will you move him to 1B? If he's 6'0" or over that might work well.

OrbisEuler · 08-23-2019, 04:10 PM

Yeah I don't want to directly evolve the league for my own gain. It's fictional so we'll see. But on the note of height do you know exactly how height plays into the simming?

Argonaut · 08-23-2019, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrbisEuler

Yeah I don't want to directly evolve the league for my own gain. It's fictional so we'll see. But on the note of height do you know exactly how height plays into the simming?

Height lends a pretty significant bonus to a player's potential 1B rating. A 6'5" guy like Joey Gallo is going to be a stud there, as long as he has some infield ratings. Presumably if you're taller you can catch more balls thrown to you.

A guy rated 45-50 at 3B definitely has the infield skills to play 1B, and if he's tall that's even better.

TomVeal · 08-24-2019, 10:11 AM

What are his underlying ratings (range, arm, error, DP)? His fielding may yet improve as he gains experience. Also consider his OF ratings. Some 3B's can play RF decently.

And don't forget that 3B's get far fewer fielding chances than other IF's, so that ZR is based on a rather small sample size.

NoOne · 08-24-2019, 02:43 PM

play him at 1b

he should be better at 1b over 3b. not what you want to hear, but all you can do.

rarely will you see defensive ability change and even more rarely once they are typically mlb-aged.

like others said, he seems ~near the median, so he should be serviceable. his offense will easily outwiegh a few less Def-runs-saved or whatever. also, if those in-game defensive stats are anything liek RL, they are all over the board with virtually no integrity, lol. unless a computer is doing it, a human eye will f%$ it up for sure -- multiple human eyes will be inconsistent with each other in evaluation. it will ruin the data.

08-23-2019, 01:31 PM	#1
OrbisEuler Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 35	Advice to improve an individual's defense? Playing a fictional league and there is no DH. My 3rd basemen is an incredible offensive player but he's at best mediocre at 3rd base. OSA has him as a 50(20-80) at 3rd while my scout has him at 45(20-80). It's July 9th and he's at -5 ZR. In the last game we played he made a very costly error and it's starting to become common place. Is there anything I can do to improve his defense at 3rd base?

08-23-2019, 02:00 PM	#2
Argonaut All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 1,085	I don't think there's anything you can do to improve defense (aside from editing in commissioner mode). 3B is a decent spot to have a good hitter and weaker fielder though. 45-50 defense is not too bad. -5 ZR is only costing you half a win (although it sounds like he may have cost you a "real" win). If you can find another more defensive 3B option that you like, and your current 3B is a better hitter than your 1B, you can move your 3B to 1B. __________________ Texas Rangers Dynasty (Est. 1972) Hartford Whalers Dynasty: Brass Bonanza

08-23-2019, 02:46 PM	#4
Argonaut All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 1,085	Interesting, are you just leaving league evolution to the AI? Or going historical? If the latter, then the DH will come in 1973. Well, at least to the AL... but if you're fictional I don't know how that would work. It leaves some interesting managing decisions though. Like will you move him to 1B? If he's 6'0" or over that might work well. __________________ Texas Rangers Dynasty (Est. 1972) Hartford Whalers Dynasty: Brass Bonanza

08-23-2019, 04:10 PM	#5
OrbisEuler Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 35	Yeah I don't want to directly evolve the league for my own gain. It's fictional so we'll see. But on the note of height do you know exactly how height plays into the simming?

08-24-2019, 10:11 AM	#7
TomVeal All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Spanaway, Washington Posts: 1,181	What are his underlying ratings (range, arm, error, DP)? His fielding may yet improve as he gains experience. Also consider his OF ratings. Some 3B's can play RF decently. And don't forget that 3B's get far fewer fielding chances than other IF's, so that ZR is based on a rather small sample size.

08-24-2019, 02:43 PM	#8
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	play him at 1b he should be better at 1b over 3b. not what you want to hear, but all you can do. rarely will you see defensive ability change and even more rarely once they are typically mlb-aged. like others said, he seems ~near the median, so he should be serviceable. his offense will easily outwiegh a few less Def-runs-saved or whatever. also, if those in-game defensive stats are anything liek RL, they are all over the board with virtually no integrity, lol. unless a computer is doing it, a human eye will f%$ it up for sure -- multiple human eyes will be inconsistent with each other in evaluation. it will ruin the data.