Greetings,

Is there ever any good prospects coming out of the Tryout Camps? And, if so, how long do they stay there? In other words, how often does it need to be checked?

Also, what's the purpose of the DITR rankings? I couldn't find a good explanation in the help nor faqs. Other than maybe "these minor leaguers show some promise" is there anything magical going on here?

Thanks again to everyone for their help!

Tryout camps: No, all of these players are just fillers for the lower levels. Sometimes, though, these players can become a DITR.

Speaking of DITR: DITR is basically a random selection from your minor-league group that suddenly are assigned new ratings, both current and projected. It can make a 25th-round draft pick suddenly be one of your top prospects.

Qualifications for a DITR: 18 to 24 years old, usually years 1 to 3 of their career (including new draftees), generally the overall rating under 60. Other characteristics that lead to a DITR: low-stamina relief pitcher; four-pitch starting pitcher; low-durability C, DH or 1B; infielder with a big arm; outfielder with 70+ range and glove; high makeup rating.

One of the best phrases i heard about wanting to predict who becomes a DITR: You hope someone captures the "magical pixie dust" that makes a player a DITR. It is a total crapshoot, but you can get a good player this way.

ok...so DITRs are where AI decides to boost some players' ratings. I'm guessing the improvements are already reflected in the DITR report, right?

Are the improvements reliable, or can the pixie dust disappear just as easily?

Why do most of the previous owners write a note on the player showing he was a former DITR? If the player got the ratings boost, good for the player, but why need to track it specifically rather than just seeing the ratings as you would any other (non-DITR) player? (this would make sense to track if the pixie dust is fleeting but I don't see another reason to track separately)

Generally speaking, if a player becomes a DiTR you want to start treating them more like an actual prospect. So it helps to have a little reminder. I've had a few DiTRs who I've forgotten about and left on benches.

DITR's will also have a little diamond graphic in the upper left portion of their portrait.

"Qualifications for a DITR: 18 to 24 years old, usually years 1 to 3 of their career (including new draftees), generally the overall rating under 60. Other characteristics that lead to a DITR: low-stamina relief pitcher; four-pitch starting pitcher; low-durability C, DH or 1B; infielder with a big arm; outfielder with 70+ range and glove; high makeup rating." --> Recently I have tried putting all of the draft prospects who check these boxes directly after all of my "real" prospects, so when I end up drafting one of them I'll write something like "drafted as a potential DITR" in the notes section so that I can look back later and see how many of them actually turn out...not sure how successful this strategy is just yet, but it is my attempt to put pixie dust in a bottle.

I'm still not getting this...DITR means they get a one-time ratings boost. OK, that's nice. But once they get the ratings boost, aren't they to be evaluated just like any other player, just with a bit higher ratings than they had before? If this is the case, don't know why they need to be tracked in a special way different from any other prospect of equal rating.

If the DITR player is still very young (19 or 20 years ago), they will often develop at a very high rate of speed. Yes, they will get an immediate ratings boost, but they can also gain 30 points or more to their projections. What damag was saying is he wants to remember who his DITRs are, so he makes sure to have them in starting line-ups to make sure they do develop at this high rate.

Posted by Scotb50 on 11/9/2020 6:06:00 PM (view original):
I'm still not getting this...DITR means they get a one-time ratings boost. OK, that's nice. But once they get the ratings boost, aren't they to be evaluated just like any other player, just with a bit higher ratings than they had before? If this is the case, don't know why they need to be tracked in a special way different from any other prospect of equal rating.

DitRs get a boost not only one-time, but in rate of development. For some players this can be really spectacular... this is a season 54 DitR pitcher of mine with 31 points of growth in 2 seasons, and more to come:

	Season	Control	VsL	VsR	Velo	GB/FB	P1	P2
Current	-	79	56	53	34	63	77	64
Projected	-	100	72	62	51	52	79	77
Spring Training	54	60	25	27	32	58	59	50
Spring Training	55	70	40	40	34	61	69	57
Opening Day	55	72	44	43	34	62	71	59
RegularSeason	55	73	46	45	34	63	72	60
RegularSeason	55	75	49	47	34	63	74	61
RegularSeason	55	77	52	49	34	63	75	62
RegularSeason	55	78	54	51	34	63	76	63
RegularSeason	55	79	56	53	34	63	77	64

So yeah, you need to track them, treat them like prospects so they get playing time, so you don't lose them in Rule 5, so they don't retire.

that makes a ton more sense...that it isn't only the one-time bump. and i get why people make the note cuz the little diamond icon is easy to miss.

thanks again!

There are different messages you will get for the DITR. I have tracked them to some degree. I do believe there are a couple that portend a ML player and a couple that mean they are AAA material at best. The DITR notes once they come in during the All Star break are:


I'm really excited to let you know that (Player Name) has increased his potential value. I'll leave the promotions to you, but this guy should at least be considered.

(Player Name) has really shown some substantial improvement half-way through the season. Be sure not to overlook him.

I can't believe it! (Player Name) has just had a major breakthrough. This guy has become substantially more valuable to our franchise.

I just wanted to let you know that (Player Name) has really made a dramatic turn. Something has clicked for this guy and his future is looking much brighter.

(Player Name) must have been eating his Wheaties. This guy has just had a career changing transition, I would highly recommend that you look at him a bit closer.

I could see the perfect DITR make the HOF. I see about one reliever or so per class that has high ratings, but an overall under 60 due to a low stamina. Add in a super high makeup, and if that guy hits he would become one of the best relievers in the league, with the ability to pitch 100+ innings every season.

It'd be a little tougher to imagine a starter. Maybe a position player, something like a really great combo of defense/hitting in a catcher. Or I would even say a shortstop. There's very few above average hitting shortstops who also play GG defense. I see one guy in my current class that could achieve that if he got DITR, he would be a good hitter (high 700 OPS or so) with 90+ defensive ratings. Depending on your league, I could see a guy like that getting voted in considering the types of SS that come through HBD.

This the best DITR I’ve ever gotten-he’s a high-end reliever that gives me 100+ innings a year. But highly unlikely he could ever make the HOF.

https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=9791993

This has more to do with the way we vote for the Hall of Fame than with the players. It would be very hard to get any DitR to have a Hall-worthy career other than a defensive C or RP-- but defensive C's don't rack up counting numbers, and defense is comically underrated among my league mates in HoF voting. And RPs invariably get evaluated by number of career saves.

If you wanted to take Batista (sfpvideo's guy above), set him to Closer A with a 15/20 count, 9th inning only, he'd rack up 500 saves and make the Hall. But if you want to win, why the hell would you do that?

Player Profile: Joe Knight - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports. Could easily pitch 120 + innings a season and on a good team as a sa get an easy 15 + wins a season.