Scouting the draft pool & the draft in OOPT21

Sweed · 08-23-2020, 05:04 PM

Finished my first v21 draft a couple weeks ago, been meaning to post my thoughts, and finally getting to it.

First I setup shortlists for the "2036 draft" and a "2036 draft board". I made filters to sort out "draftable pitchers" and "draftable hitters" to fit my standards with enough looseness to allow for players to be taken in the late rounds. As always I ignored the stars (to vague and a waste IMHO) and for later rounds did not let low overall potential scare me away. Even if a guy on my list projects as a 20/25 somewhere in there, confirmed by my "draftable" sorts are a skill or two that say he at least has a remote chance of making it to the show

Draftable players were put in the Draft shortlist and would be moved to the Draft Board shortlist once they had a "high" rating. Player reports would be requested to keep these players at "high" or "very high" as time progressed.

By the time the draft arrived I had over 300 players scouted and on my board. In previous versions my board would be ~10 players, I mean why not? In previous versions all of the scouting was done early. In v21 having to continually update the reports made me very familiar with all of the players on my board.

The draft was set for 25 rounds and enough players in the pool to cover 26 rounds. As the draft started I was prepared to do my "normal" draft through round 6-7 and let the AI sort out the chaff, but... a funny thing happened. I ended up drafting all 25 rounds and enjoyed it. I never thought this possible but with the new system, having better knowledge of the pool, and a huge list of "draftable players" it became impossible for me to walk away

When my turn came up in the 25th round I still had two players from my board undrafted, I thought this was very cool. I only took one player that had not made it onto my draft board. I did this in round 19, as this round came up I decided to take a look at the pool that was not on my board (easily done in the draft screen with all of the new sorting optons). There was a guy that did have a high rating, skills I liked, with one skill being just under my "acceptable" scale. But late round I thought worth a gamble.

In short.. having to scout got me more involved,

having so many ways to sort talent made building a draft list very fun and interesting

There was enough talent in the draft. I never felt like I was making a useless pick in context with the round I was drafting in. Do these low round picks have a good chance at making the show? No, but they do have potential skills and, also current skills that suggest there is a chance. Not sure I saw these guys in previous versions or it could be I had so little interest in these "back of the draft" players I just never noticed.

This was done with OOTP's new created draft classes replacing my old feeder leagues. IMHO the whole draft, start to finish, is a huge step up from previous versions.

SirMichaelJordan · 09-02-2020, 08:00 PM

Here's a nice video from GM Games of someone drafting.

Could help someone who struggles with the draft or think it's talentless.

https://youtu.be/1CMEcEsi41A?t=572

BIG17EASY · 09-03-2020, 09:10 AM

Would you be willing to post a screenshot of a guy who was on your board that you took in the last 3-4 rounds? Just curious what his ratings would look like? Are you looking at one skill that projects to be MLB-average or better and trying to pair that with high work ethic? That's been my strategy in previous versions of the game. I haven't done a draft in 21 yet.

SirMichaelJordan · 09-04-2020, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Would you be willing to post a screenshot of a guy who was on your board that you took in the last 3-4 rounds? Just curious what his ratings would look like? Are you looking at one skill that projects to be MLB-average or better and trying to pair that with high work ethic? That's been my strategy in previous versions of the game. I haven't done a draft in 21 yet.

That’s pretty much my strategy in the later rounds. I look for one of the 5 tools to be at least 50 (20-80)

As I get to the back end of the draft, I use personality as tiebreakers. I also start to favor guys who are close to MLB average in potential ratings like Eye, Avoid K, Movement.

I play with TCR at 200 so it’s very rewarding when you see that 20th round pick who had terrible contact but has league average eye breaks his contact potential ceiling and improve to 50 contact and become a useful player for your main squad.

I don’t play with OVR/POT on so when I scout my prospects I make a note in the game and rank them on my own 20-80 overall scale by averaging out their 5 tools.

Sweed · 09-04-2020, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Would you be willing to post a screenshot of a guy who was on your board that you took in the last 3-4 rounds? Just curious what his ratings would look like? Are you looking at one skill that projects to be MLB-average or better and trying to pair that with high work ethic? That's been my strategy in previous versions of the game. I haven't done a draft in 21 yet.

I'll throw up a few shots. Players and my filters. I pretty much use 4 as a guide, power I go down to 3. This allows me to build a big board with talent that should last until the very late rounds. From here it is easy enough to sort for wherever I am in the draft.

The filters are easy enough to change on the fly if I feel the need. Check or uncheck a category or change a number up or down one. In the end I've never had a batter with 3 contact that could play, but a 4? Yeah, on occasion. P's kind of the same especially with control, 3 is just a disqualifier for me. Personality, like SMJ, is a tie breaker for me. Though sometimes I fall in love with velocity at 100+ mph

This kind of thing is what made decision making at the end of the draft fun and interesting.

Derringer was not on my list and drafted in the 19th round. I rookie ball he has a perfect game and a no-hitter. Sleasman 24th round but not getting playing time, though you'll see he has potentials 4-4-3-5-4.

Contreras 13th round 17yr old HS player. 4-5-5-4-4.

Some player shots. Limited to 5 so the two filters will follow in next post.

Sweed · 09-04-2020, 10:35 PM

And my filters..

SirMichaelJordan · 09-05-2020, 09:53 AM

This is how my prospect view look

Just basing everything on OVR / POT, I would never have someone like Joe Bickett on my radar. He's a SP but looks like (not scouted enough) one of the best hitters in the draft and a damn good potential CF! Btw he’s not a two way player and haven’t batted at all in college.

Another useful tip for later rounds where you are mostly drafting for organizational depth is to change the ratings relative to the league the player in question might start at or at least to AAA level to use as tie breakers for players.

Sometimes I might get players who aren’t close to MLB league average anywhere so I just settle for AAA potential or if I know he’s going to start in rookie ball, I’ll look at his current ratings at my rookie ball level. Even though winning doesn’t really matter at the minor league level, i don’t want to see my teams going 7 - 51 either lol

08-23-2020, 05:04 PM	#1
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,646	Scouting the draft pool & the draft in OOPT21 Finished my first v21 draft a couple weeks ago, been meaning to post my thoughts, and finally getting to it. First I setup shortlists for the "2036 draft" and a "2036 draft board". I made filters to sort out "draftable pitchers" and "draftable hitters" to fit my standards with enough looseness to allow for players to be taken in the late rounds. As always I ignored the stars (to vague and a waste IMHO) and for later rounds did not let low overall potential scare me away. Even if a guy on my list projects as a 20/25 somewhere in there, confirmed by my "draftable" sorts are a skill or two that say he at least has a remote chance of making it to the show Draftable players were put in the Draft shortlist and would be moved to the Draft Board shortlist once they had a "high" rating. Player reports would be requested to keep these players at "high" or "very high" as time progressed. By the time the draft arrived I had over 300 players scouted and on my board. In previous versions my board would be ~10 players, I mean why not? In previous versions all of the scouting was done early. In v21 having to continually update the reports made me very familiar with all of the players on my board. The draft was set for 25 rounds and enough players in the pool to cover 26 rounds. As the draft started I was prepared to do my "normal" draft through round 6-7 and let the AI sort out the chaff, but... a funny thing happened. I ended up drafting all 25 rounds and enjoyed it. I never thought this possible but with the new system, having better knowledge of the pool, and a huge list of "draftable players" it became impossible for me to walk away When my turn came up in the 25th round I still had two players from my board undrafted, I thought this was very cool. I only took one player that had not made it onto my draft board. I did this in round 19, as this round came up I decided to take a look at the pool that was not on my board (easily done in the draft screen with all of the new sorting optons). There was a guy that did have a high rating, skills I liked, with one skill being just under my "acceptable" scale. But late round I thought worth a gamble. In short.. having to scout got me more involved, having so many ways to sort talent made building a draft list very fun and interesting There was enough talent in the draft. I never felt like I was making a useless pick in context with the round I was drafting in. Do these low round picks have a good chance at making the show? No, but they do have potential skills and, also current skills that suggest there is a chance. Not sure I saw these guys in previous versions or it could be I had so little interest in these "back of the draft" players I just never noticed. This was done with OOTP's new created draft classes replacing my old feeder leagues. IMHO the whole draft, start to finish, is a huge step up from previous versions.

09-04-2020, 10:35 PM	#6
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,646	And my filters.. Attached Images

09-05-2020, 09:53 AM	#7
SirMichaelJordan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 2,718	This is how my prospect view look Just basing everything on OVR / POT, I would never have someone like Joe Bickett on my radar. He's a SP but looks like (not scouted enough) one of the best hitters in the draft and a damn good potential CF! Btw he’s not a two way player and haven’t batted at all in college. Another useful tip for later rounds where you are mostly drafting for organizational depth is to change the ratings relative to the league the player in question might start at or at least to AAA level to use as tie breakers for players. Sometimes I might get players who aren’t close to MLB league average anywhere so I just settle for AAA potential or if I know he’s going to start in rookie ball, I’ll look at his current ratings at my rookie ball level. Even though winning doesn’t really matter at the minor league level, i don’t want to see my teams going 7 - 51 either lol Attached Images Last edited by SirMichaelJordan; 09-05-2020 at 10:35 AM.

09-02-2020, 08:00 PM	#2
SirMichaelJordan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 2,718	Here's a nice video from GM Games of someone drafting. Could help someone who struggles with the draft or think it's talentless. https://youtu.be/1CMEcEsi41A?t=572

09-03-2020, 09:10 AM	#3
BIG17EASY Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,291	Would you be willing to post a screenshot of a guy who was on your board that you took in the last 3-4 rounds? Just curious what his ratings would look like? Are you looking at one skill that projects to be MLB-average or better and trying to pair that with high work ethic? That's been my strategy in previous versions of the game. I haven't done a draft in 21 yet.