I have the number 1 pick in the upcoming amateur draft. The cupboard is bare throughout my entire system. I wanted to get peoples thought on whether to draft an MPV caliber position player or a Cy Young caliber starting pitching.

Take the best player. Position player or pitcher doesn't matter. It will most likely take at least 2 or 3 seasons for that player to get to the majors.

Agreed with Drummer. I'd pick whoever stands out the most.

If you had 2 players that were equally studly it would still be tough for me. I would take (Based off of what the sim provides)

A power hitter that player RF, LF, 1B (the level of hitter tends to go down a lot for middle infield and middle outfield positions)
Cy Young pitcher
A Middle infielder/ outfielder that hits for contact and steals bases.

Everyone else

Reasoning behind this is because you can find defense cheap which can help your pitcher, good pitch calling catchers, bullpen guys etc. As well, you can get stud starting pitchers into their mid 30s via free agency or trades that will still help.

A guy that can slug for 40-50 home runs and drives in 100-120 runs can change a game, will play every game (vs 32 games a season) and is much much harder to find in free agency. By the time a lot of position players get to free agency they are between 30-32 and have already started losing their power.

All things being equal (like each have good health and durability numbers) then yeah, I'd go best player available. If you need a tiebreaker I'd look at health- you know that if a guy is injured for any significant portion of his developmental period that will put a good dent in his ability to approach his projection- and that sucks. If the hitter and pitcher are similar in projections I might go for who is more likely to stay on the field, as far as durability and health.

Posted by casperthegm on 7/26/2022 2:26:00 PM (view original):
All things being equal (like each have good health and durability numbers) then yeah, I'd go best player available. If you need a tiebreaker I'd look at health- you know that if a guy is injured for any significant portion of his developmental period that will put a good dent in his ability to approach his projection- and that sucks. If the hitter and pitcher are similar in projections I might go for who is more likely to stay on the field, as far as durability and health.

Unless you have 20 million in medical and a lot of patience.

It too years of injuring and healing to get Johan Butcher to the god-like numbers he is at currently. But it was totally worth it.

I will say a high durability/stamina stud starter can do wonders in the playoffs if you use him right.

I think if there's a starting pitcher and a position player who are pretty comparable, go with the pitcher. Unless it's a good fielding shortstop (80+ across the board) with a good bat. I'll take them any day of the week and any time of day/night.

The most valuable player in the game by far is a stud SP with 80+ patience because there's a good chance he'll never leave. You can usually lock him up for his entire career for dirt cheap and pitchers don't start declining in ratings until ~36 y/o (STA and DUR decline sooner but that doesn't affect their stuff). Meanwhile position players can start to see declines in things like POW, RNG, and ARM as young as 30 y/o.

Posted by hockey1984 on 7/26/2022 3:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by casperthegm on 7/26/2022 2:26:00 PM (view original):
All things being equal (like each have good health and durability numbers) then yeah, I'd go best player available. If you need a tiebreaker I'd look at health- you know that if a guy is injured for any significant portion of his developmental period that will put a good dent in his ability to approach his projection- and that sucks. If the hitter and pitcher are similar in projections I might go for who is more likely to stay on the field, as far as durability and health.

Unless you have 20 million in medical and a lot of patience.

It too years of injuring and healing to get Johan Butcher to the god-like numbers he is at currently. But it was totally worth it.

That Butcher guy would have really been good if only he had developed a fifth pitch. :)

Posted by davis on 7/27/2022 1:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hockey1984 on 7/26/2022 3:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by casperthegm on 7/26/2022 2:26:00 PM (view original):
All things being equal (like each have good health and durability numbers) then yeah, I'd go best player available. If you need a tiebreaker I'd look at health- you know that if a guy is injured for any significant portion of his developmental period that will put a good dent in his ability to approach his projection- and that sucks. If the hitter and pitcher are similar in projections I might go for who is more likely to stay on the field, as far as durability and health.

Unless you have 20 million in medical and a lot of patience.

It too years of injuring and healing to get Johan Butcher to the god-like numbers he is at currently. But it was totally worth it.

That Butcher guy would have really been good if only he had developed a fifth pitch. :)

If he had a 5th pitch he would never lose.