Player development Topic

I haven't taken a systematic look at all of my players, but it seems like 90% of my players don't hit their projections and in some cases don't even come very close. I would think maybe I wasn't spending enough on scouting, but then I'd have to think it would be about a 50/50 mix between exceeding and falling below.

Is there a good thread out there on making sure your players reach their full potential? I have at least median-level coaches, it even happens to my players with decent makeup, so I wonder if maybe I am promoting players at the wrong pace? Or is this just a common problem that most owners have?

Any advice from the vets will be appreciated.
9/14/2016 6:32 PM
Ignore projections once you sign a player is the best advice anyone can give you.

Play them when they're healthy. Put them with good coaches at the right level. Use 20m in training.
9/14/2016 6:42 PM
$20M in training. Really? Crazy all the nuances to learn in this game.
10/3/2016 12:39 PM
Training develops all the "physical" attributes in the game, such as power, speed, durability, stamina, range, arm strength and velocity. Maybe one or two others. Those are the attributes that typically only increase/decrease during the off season. The exceptions to that would be due to injury, injury recovery, or a DITR designation.
10/3/2016 12:49 PM
(I hate to say it but) Mike gave the best advice I had heard on this a while ago.

(I'm paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to get the quote)

'What else are you going to do? Not develop the players?'


You draft guys where you do or sign them as IFA's because they look best, then you put them through the farm system and hope for the best. Doesn't matter if they end up being a 70 overall player or a 95 overall. You're going to do the same process to any prospect that even has a remote shot of making the bigs, or at least you should.
10/3/2016 1:04 PM
The basics that most good owners I've talked to follow is -

Make sure prospective BLers are at the appropriate level based on age and level of talent.
Make sure they play as much as they can. 'Play' is not necessarily tied to IP or ABs. Its tied to games played.
Make sure that they are (usually) promoted each season (Unless they are horrible and at a higher level than they should be). Multiple seasons at the same level will stagnate their development.
Keep your training maxed out. Set it to $20 million and forget about it.
Keep your coaches in the 'top 10' level for their relevant ratings. You can get this by running a coaches report for previous seasons. (Always keep an eye out for some leagues where owners over-promote coaches to save money. Average ratings there can be misleading). If you can afford to have the best at every level then go ahead, but generally that money can be better used elsewhere. Whats the difference between a pitching coach with a 74 vs a 70? I'm guessing it isn't a huge difference.

A few other things that (can) help out -
(Note: Not all of this is proven)
Don't play trash catchers in the minors. I try and stock catchers that have excellent throwing and pitch calling - even if they can't hit. Why? Because your minor league pitchers will - theoretically - pitch more and get hammered less.
Make sure you play minor league players in the correct positions, and aim to have good defensive players out there. Why? Again, that only helps your pitchers out. Having a DH at SS isn't doing your pitchers any favor.
I usually don't want my best position prospects replaced by pinch hitters or pinch runners, so I turn that off for them. I do want them to rest however.

As Mike has said before, do your due diligence in drafting, follow the advice in this post, and then forget about those guys. Where they end up really won't be apparent until 3-4 seasons from now. That's a whole year. Plus, advanced, unless its near or at max, won't tell you sh1t about where a player will accurately end up. Plus a player can get wacked with an injury. So just do your due diligence and worry about them later.
10/3/2016 1:40 PM
Every player is inherently over-projected.

Specific attributes in the "potential" row may be over-projected or under-projected, but let's say for example a hitter is projected for 70 contact and 70 power and his currents are 50 and 50. Let's say that simmy over-projected power and under-projected contact... the potential row moves along with the current row. In other words, if the player's current gets to 75 contact and 65 power, the projected row moves to 75 contact and 70 power. But he's still never getting that extra 5 power so he is "under-projected".

The player can never reach projected OVR so don't stress out about it, just be happy whenever a player beats a projection in a specific attribute
10/6/2016 1:32 PM
Player development Topic

Search Criteria

Terms of Use Customer Support Privacy Statement

© 1999-2024 WhatIfSports.com, Inc. All rights reserved. WhatIfSports is a trademark of WhatIfSports.com, Inc. SimLeague, SimMatchup and iSimNow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Used under license. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.