Understanding Defensive Ratings

[BKL]

Can someone elaborate on the difference between the rating at the position (such as 2B) vs. the other defensive infield ratings (such as Turn DP, Infield Arm)....also the same question for outfielders.

I guess what I'm wondering, is what's more important to look at and how to decipher and connect these ratings. If I'm looking for a good 2B, should I just look at the 2B rating, or should I look at the turn DP, infield arm, etc.?

Thanks.

[drhay53]

The rating at the position can be considered a player's 'experience' at that position. i.e., how much he has played it. It does have a pretty large impact on how well he plays the position, in my experience. It also does go up... I believe the rate of increase is related to the player's intelligence.

A player's range varies in importance by where he plays, but generally speaking, my experience is that range is usually the next most important rating when it comes to their zone rating, which is usually my first look stat. Especially for outfielders and shortstop, I want a high range.

Error is obviously how often they'll commit an error. Arm is also self-explanatory. You want your 3B and SS to have a good arm otherwise you'll see a lot of infield singles in my experience.

I am not 100% on how turn double play works, but I believe just based on the style of player that has a high TDP that they're mostly important for the guy who is actually making the turn at 2B.

For catchers, catcher ability includes things like pitch framing and other catcher intangibles. It's the #1 thing I look for in my catcher; I want him to handle the staff well.

Hope that helps.

[PSUColonel]

Individual ratings plus experience determine a player's defensive ratings. e.g. "turn double play is more valuable for middle infielders..."Infield Arm" is needed at 3B...Range is very important for SS.

[NoOne]

one other thing that is important - Range and Speed are exclusive of each other.

e.g. as far as Defense is concerned, a 100speed and 100range player is the same as 0speed and 100 range player at that position.

"turning" a double play is the guy catching and throwing in one motion. *** 3rd base needs aminimum ~25/250 for turn DP to display a defensive rating at 3B in their profile.... double play is mostly useless for a 3b, no worries if they have experience and other good ratings for that base. if i recall, i only saw it once and i think his turn dp developed a bit and eventually showed a rating anyway. so i have a sneaking suspiscion very low ratings can bump up at least a little with very little time invested there.

it really depends on their age as far as what to focus on... and how long will you have them? worthwhile to develop them at a 2nd position etc....

I mostly focus on ratings when they are my prospects in the minors when i select their position. if i want them at a differnt positon, i force play them to learn it with no repercussions to my MLB team.

If it's a free agent or vet on my team, i'm not going to force a ss to learn 2b unless i intend to keep that player for a while... he's gotta work off the damages he caused or it isn't worth it.

i do it quite a bit, though. the season i see a SS start to lose their range (before it's a problem!), i move them to 3b or 2b or trade or allow to be a FA etc... whatever is best at that moment in time giving the opportunites available. when changing positions things like ST helps! timing is important, here. still young and a liess integral cog on your team? send them to AAA for a month.... you can be creative ... just get it done well.