Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Draft

Help for those of you want it. I wouldn't say this will cover everything as I have a tendency to miss something somewhere or be an end all solution as others have their own ways of doing it.

First of all, you need to set the draft settings. You must decide how you want to do it. There is more than one way. I usually set targets something like 1 for each position player and 3 for 2B and SS. For pitchers I set starters for 7 and depending I set RP at 1. The rest I set for any. I set the weight for 5 in each category, I still want it set to best player available by OVR. I set the Type to slugging for position players and control for pitchers. This way it doesn't move players that much for best player available and if it does there is normally a good reason.

If you use the formula builder, after talking with a few owners in other worlds I am in, we came to this conclusion. It does a good job at setting up the draft pool if you use it to set either position players or pitchers but not both. If you set the position players, you may need to rank DH's and catchers separately. If you use it for pitching, position players will need to be moved around pretty extensively or you won't get to draft any. I used the formula builder rather extensively to see how it worked and figured out that I don't really like it at all. If you use the formula builder make sure you set the targets.

I usually set the rating threshold to none so I will draft the best player as opposed to skipping down the list to fulfill my targets.

Round 1 and supplemental I always set to very conservative, I don't take risks on the first round at all and conservative with the rest. That is me and I wouldn't say whether this is right or wrong. If the player is that good you may want to take a chance. If you have it set to very conservative and you have an iffy pick that it jumps over, there is usually just cause.

For the players themselves. The first thing you need to understand is the BIO, that indicates signability. If it is anything other than "Will sign for slot money" there is a risk involved. "Will sign if the deal is right" is not all that risky. "Wants to be drafted in 1st round or first 5 rounds" is a lot more riskier, but MOST sign after a hold out and more money of course. "Probably not, Undecided or wants to play another sport" gets dropped off to the end of my draft board as these are the riskiest. Hope I didn't miss any.

One thing you need to know about the players is the current rating, is static and seen by everyone the same as far as I know. The projected ratings can vary with every owner and the amount spent on scouting.

Things to pay attention to about with player ratings. Watch makeup, durability and health ratings in the physical characteristics plus patience a little bit. Watch the fielding ratings and position of the player, many do not really coincide in the draft but doesn't mean he can't play another position. Just because you are an NL team doesn't mean a DH can't be a 1B or catcher, you really need to look. A pitchers control, splits and pitches of course.

With the new OVR ratings for pitchers, some are not rated as high as in the past. Care should be taken as a pitcher with an OVR of 65 could be better than a position player with a 75. Relief pitchers also are lower in the rankings than they used to be.

As for the difference in current ratings and projected ratings, I use what I call the 20/10 rule. That concludes that a player can advance up to 20+ points on the playing bump ratings and 10+ points on rollover ratings in the first two or three seasons. There are some ifs, ands, and buts to this rule. One of the big differences is a player with very good patience and makeup. I use the 20/10 rule more often after their first spring training. The reason I speak about this is the fact that some players can be over rated in projected. When they need to gather 30+ points in several ratings categories, chances are good he is rated incorrectly. When they are signed and put on a roster, their ratings tend to shrink.

Now as for what player to draft, that could be tough. Do you need a big slugger? Is pitching your need? Do you take a player you don't need in hopes of trading for what you do need next season? That is a question of preference.

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