Tips for Developing Power Hitters?

[DB930]

This is inspired by the thread from yesterday asking for amateur draft tips. I've just come off maybe the most frustrating 14-year run of my OOTP career. In all that time we managed 1 (ONE!!) postseason appearance. We had a lot of 90+ win seasons, and second-place finishes, but could never get over the hump. The main culprit was the offense, which was consistently one of the worst in the league. It was common to have 6 or 7 members of the everyday lineup finish with single-digit HRs, and I think I only had 1 of my own draft picks ever have a 20-HR season.

Now, granted, this was Houston, playing in the Astrodome (aka the Anti-Coors) in the 1960s (aka the second deadball-era) and early '70s, but the problem went deeper than that. It wasn't that guys stopped hitting HRs when they got to the Astros. They didn't hit for power anywhere else in the system, either. I would draft a guy in the first round with (potential) 60+ contact and 65 or 70 power, and he'd top out at 8 or 9 HRs in the minors, and be down to a 50 in power by the time he hit the big leagues.

I've never had problems like this before. Earlier in this same save, with the 1940s/50s Cubs, I drafted and developed a guy who hit 404 career HR, and another who hit 515. But I never paid any special attention to it, either--I'd draft guys, put 'em in the minors, some of them would hit HRs, and I'd call 'em up. But now I'm just wondering if there's anything specific I can do? Things to look for in draft prospects, or certain ways to handle them while they're in the minor leagues to give them a better chance to develop?

[bostonredsox282]

You could change your managers and hitting coaches to fit a power profile better.

[slugger922cubs]

look for hitters that also have good gap power and good eye. Also be patient when promoting no need to promote if the power isn't developing yet. If you promote too early that power may never develop.

[ThePretender]

I would say do the complete opposite. I don't care about eye, and I'll promote a guy if contact and avoid k are good and power isn't. I've found power will develop when it's ready and usually goes quickly.

So I guess the more important point is you can't aim to develop power. It'll fill out or it won't. People use different strategies and it fills out regardless. You might have just had a bad run.

[NoOne]

as far as developing them - move them as ability/development dictates... power is not much of a concern for most of their minor league careers. by the time they reach the majors they will be old enough... if development is still moving upward at a good clip, no reason to hold them back even if MiL results stink.

power almost always develops last/late...even in AAA you may not see any significant strides. i've seen players take 2-3years in the mlb before they 'filled out.' ~fully developed save a chunk of power for a few years isn't unusual. especially if they are on the young side. by 26-27-28 you can close the book on any unmet power even if the potential hasn't dropped yet.

if you want more, you need to draft or sign more. definitely need rakers 4-5 in any respectable offense and 1-9 if you can afford it. a big budget can afford 3-4+ of these guys batting 3-4-5-6+. 3rd is roughly equivalent to 5 in rbi opportunities on average, but obviously is going to be driven in often - ie more skill sets required / likely a better player all-around. 4th will see the most, but also get ~4% less PA than 3rd... so upto you where the "best" guy goes... i put the better HR guy 4th, unless the other guy is a super-plodder on the basepaths.

you won't have 4-5 mike trouts wihtout some type of help, like no ceiling on int'l amatuers or draft pick trading. but, getting 1 or 2 of somthing similar and 2 or 3 decent power hitters isn't out of the realm of possibilities for decent budgets. couple cheap speedy obp guys 1-2 and you have 800+ runs easily. need a solid 1-5 minimum. 3-4-5 the big bats. hopefuly, the #2 guy is ~20hr/year give or take a few, but you dont wnt to pay for power where it won't be well utilized relative to a budget.

power hitters cost alot more... don't buy the crappy ones though, unless they are hitting bottom third in lineup and oyu can afford it with ease. be picky but with a real need for them at all times and to feed the pig for the fiture (pig=MiL)... short-term band-aids, even if overpaid, are wise things to do.

i try to get obp guys that don't cost 20-30M... if you spend 60M on power hitters and you only have ~80 for 1/2 the payroll (pitching), you gotta find value for 1-2, typically... and hopefully at least 1-2 batters under club control and cheap relative to quality. ~800-900 runs with ~80-90M to spend in a ~default modern financial environemnt. definitely a goal that will win many gamese with a good pitching staff.

spend on that scouting budget - even tailor it to however you mainly get your players year-by-year. for example, if i am drafting low or not at all in teh first round, i often spend alot more on minor league scouting than the amatuer draft. if you don't have int'l leagues runing, you do not need int't league scouting. after multiple years of 2nd tier talent from teh draft, i know i'm more likely to package 2+ good prospects and a ??? for a better prospect of near future positional need. i always draft best possible, bcause it seems i can find better talents with high precision for position and timing etc after they've been in the minors for a year or 2. costs a bit more, so have to pick and choose wisely, but that's probably more often how i find those generational players... way more likely than drafting 30th.

~2-3m for ML is probably a good minimum (for any of them based on baseline amounts/4). Dumping some more into ML anytime you can afford to do so, because it will help manager decisions in game -- the AI and you due to improved resolution of ratings etc... whether to hold a runner or whatever.

some skimp on mil scouting, i value it very highly. not just for trading but for efficiently placing prospects at the appropriate level which will provide optimal devlepment rate.