Baseball in Billings (OOTP26)

[fudal]

Ahem. Attempt #2 at doing consistent posts on here. My problem with reporting my saves, is that life always gets in the way. Hopefully playing the game I love the most will help me maintain that consistency I crave.

If you've never played Out of the Park, it's a baseball GM/Manager simulation game on PC. It's one of the most in-depth sports video games out there, and tracks league, team, and player stats better than any other sports game I've played. I've put over 2,000 hours in the last 5 versions of the game, but have struggled to get into OOTP26. That's not to say this isn't a good release, however. I think the game gets better every year, and the big change this year was far more realistic ratings for players. It's way more rare to see someone with 70+ (reminder that this game uses the 20-80 scale) grade tools, and most MLB players fall between 45-55 in most areas. I've been debating on whether to do an expansion save or to start with one of the worst teams in the league. Ultimately, I decided to go with an expansion team based in Billings, Montana. Montana has produced the 4th least amount of MLB players out of the 50 states, so it's not a hotbed of talent. However, I just think that the state is beautiful, and playing in the smallest market in the MLB will make for an interesting challenge. Our team will be called the Bandits.

The next update will be the expansion draft, where we will see the first 35 players join the Bandits.

[six7]

this looks fun

[fudal]

Player Ratings Explanation

Before we get into the draft itself, I figure I should explain how the ratings in this game work. Please note that no player ratings are exact. For example, my scout could see a player have a 40 grade stuff attribute, while another might think it would be 50 or 55. No rating is going to be the be all and end all, and no player is going to perform the best in every save.

For pitchers there are 5 different ratings (3 core + 2 ratings under one of those core ratings). There is the typical 'stuff' attribute, which is mostly just a k/9 attribute for the MLBTS players. Then there is 'control' which is just a pitchers ability to limit walks. Finally, there is 'movement' which is comprised of two other ratings. There is 'HR Rate' which is how well the pitcher can limit homers. The higher the rating, the lower the HR/9. Then there is the 'BABIP' rating, which is how a pitcher can limit hard contact into play. A pitcher with a high 'BABIP' rating will give up less hard contact, which will usually lead to less hits on balls in play.

For hitters there are 6 different ratings (4 core + 2 sub ratings). There is the 'contact' attribute which is comprised of 'BABIP' which works the opposite of pitcher 'BABIP'. The higher the attribute the higher the likelihood of a ball in play getting down for a hit. Then there is the 'Avoid K's' rating, which is exactly what it says. A player with a high rating here won't walk more, but he'll be able to get the ball in play more often. Then there is 'Gap Power' which is how well a player can get the ball into the gaps. This pairs well with high speed and baserunning ratings. Then there is 'power' which is just a players HR hitting attribute. Finally, there is their 'eye' attribute, which is how often they are projected to walk.

There are defensive ratings, as well. Catchers have blocking, framing, and arm ratings, Infielders have range, error, arm, and turn double play ratings, and outfielders have range, error, and arm ratings. However, a player with high range in the infield isn't guaranteed to have high range in the outfield. Some guys can play both IF and OF, but not all of them can.

[fudal]

this looks fun

Truly the best sports sim game around. I hope I stick with it because going through the years in this game is so fun.

[fudal]

Expansion Draft

Now it's time for the expansion draft, and time to finally start building this roster. With each team able to protect 40 players, and all players with under 3 years of professional (not MLB) service automatically protected, this is not going to be a great roster in season 1. However, I do think there are some players of value here. We can pick up some MLB caliber talent and then trade some of them for younger talent at the deadline, should we decide to.

In round 1, our expansion rival Charlotte Herons got the first selection. They chose former Angels and Mets SP Griffin Canning. Canning's ratings (According to OSA, which is a game generated non-team affiliated scouting department. Think of them as like Fangraphs or Baseball America) are 50 stuff/50 movement/45 control. He was probably the 2nd or 3rd best starter available, but at just 28 years old, he still has some years left in his arm. We selected the best starting pitcher in the draft, in my opinion, in round 1. Joey Cantillo (25-year-old LHP) has been in and around the Guardians AAA/MLB roster for 2 or 3 seasons now, and we think he could be a really solid pitcher. He has 6 more years of team control, and with 60/50/40 ratings, with +5 potential for all 3 of those, he could be a 3/4 starter when we're competitive. With the draft being serpentine, we are back on the clock. I went with another SP, dipping into the Diamondbacks rotation to bring in 27-year-old RHP Bryce Jarvis. Jarvis is going into his 3rd season in the MLB, but he still has all 3 options years left. His 45/55/50 ratings are solid, if unspectacular, but that's to be expected for an Expansion Draft. The Herons follow our selections up with 24-year-old SP David Festa and 29-year-old SP Chris Paddack. In the 3rd and 4th rounds, we double up on pitchers yet again. Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson was the first one selected (27-year-old RHP) and his calling card is his control. His ratings are 45/45/60. Then we selected 31-year-old Astros SP Ronel Blanco, who is a work-horse with 60 stamina. With our 5th selection, we finished our starting rotation, selecting 26-year-old Brewers RHP Chad Patrick. To finish off our back to back picks, we selected our first hitter of the draft. We brought in 26-year-old switch hitting outfielder Dylan Carlson. Carlson was once a top prospect in the Cardinals organization, but has fallen on hard times in his career. He's making just $975,000 this year, so he's a buy low candidate. He'll lead off for us, if nothing more than to put him in the shop window by giving him as many AB's as possible. In the 7th round, we selected Corey Julks, a 29-year-old outfielder in the White Sox system. He's a good defensive outfielder, and should be around league average offensively. In the 8th round, we selected catcher Austin Hedges, a prodigious defender behind the plate, who should help out our pitchers to no end. To continue with the trend of great defenders, we then brought in Sammy Siani in the 9th, a great defensive Center Fielder. The final selection that I'll make a specific highlight and mention for is 10th round Shortstop Braden Shewmake from the Yankees.

Overall, here is how the roster shakes up:

[fudal]

Prior to Opening Day, we acquired 4 players off of the waiver wire.

[Agent]

Have fun with this one

[six7]

oof roster looks rough. we will see if Kirby Yates has anything left in the tank. Not sure how many save opportunities he’ll see tho