Hey everyone. I'm 1 week into my first HBD team. Learning lots quickly but still need some guidance. Care to take a look at my team and give it a quick review? The team I took over seemed middle of the pack and I'm aiming to compete.

Rough overview:
You need a SS. 85 across the board. Goodwin is OK but that leads to the next evaluation.

Your pitching is crap. IIRC, Houston is a hitter's park, and with a sub-par SS, that staff will get blown up.

Your hitting looks to be pretty solid.

At best, you have to hope to win 7-6 games. Every world plays different but .500 would be a goal with that team.

That sounds about right to me. My pitching is a nightmare.

Unfortunately setting budgets is like the first thing you do in HBD and I went with similar to the previous year, which was high payroll. I'm leaning towards blowing it up and trading away as many paid for contracts as I can.

I can agree with all those assessments ^^... You have one #2/#3-quality starter, and three #4 starters.

I notice you have Player Profile: David Wright stashed in AAA, so you can go ahead and call him up and plug him into your primary SS spot. He's only going to bat ~.600-.650 OPS but that's ok, he makes his money on defense

I did not notice any other primo prospects that were imminently ready or anything... And this is a minor point I guess but Player Profile: Major Becker and Player Profile: Octavio Gomez should also be on your ML roster, since you're paying ML salaries (esp Becker) you might as well just use them. Also, Player Profile: Hipolito Valdez could adequately take up space as a minimum-salary backup at 3B/RF/LF

projected lineup-
C- Fujiwara
1B- Ranaudo
2B- Jackson
3B-Goodwin (would be better as vL platoon only)
SS-Wright
LF-James
CF-Damon (maybe swap Damon and Goodwin?)
RF-Guzman

It's not a terrible team or anything, probably .480-.520 like ^^ said. With that setup you could definitely improve at 3B (need better bat esp vR platoon). And you can definitely improve your rotation with 1 top pitcher (bump everyone downwards one spot) and definitely bullpen. You have literally 0 relievers (quantity and quality)

Ha, I know! I just could not get anything going at RP. Had to work hard just to get the SP's I do have. I was left with little money and lots of holes.

I tend to move away from "blowing it up" when I have pieces to build around.

Well the problem is I have a number of solid/good players that aren't signed past this year. So those guys might as well get dealt for prospects. I agree that the good/young/cheap pieces need to stay put.

I generally advise new users to avoid trading in their first year also. You're not going to get what you think you're getting.

Jackson is probably your most "movable" part(since I wouldn't move any of those good 25-27 y/o position players and the rest aren't all that).

You look at him and think "That's a damn good 2B. I should get a top prospect." And I agree with the first sentence. Problem is, he's 32. His range will plummet(it may have started) soon enough. So will his power. He's already a liability on the basepaths. And he probably wants a 3 year deal. So he's a 1 season rental that becomes a burdensome LF in a couple of seasons if your trade partner decides to sign him. You'd be better off letting him walk and either A) getting a comp pick or B) signing him late in FA on the cheap. What you get in trade won't be of the same value. .

Interesting. Those are some great points. I'll need to negotiate more than what a comp pick would bring me back if I dealt him, or anyone else for that matter.

If you can get a comp pick equivalent, that's good enough. Here's how I'd look at him: He's a two season player. I'm getting 1000 AB from him. What will I give for 1000 AB? A future SP3? No, that's close to 2000 IP. A potential starting CF? Nope, good D and 4000 AB. A defensive C or SS? Yeah, probably. A low inning RP? Yeah, probably. Those aren't likely to be comp pick material.

What would you do with someone like Blade Ranaudo? He's a huge bat obviously but he's super expensive. I have him for 3 more years and could get a ton of value in return if I dealt him. I'm just worried that if i hang on I'll only get good for maybe his last year on contract and even then he's at market value.

He's a guy I'd build around. Work on making him your 1B. He's 26. He can be a 1B until his power declines. Of course, if offered the right deal, take it. But I'd make it be the absolute right deal.

Trading is rough until you get a grasp on what ratings are more beneficial to each specific position and what you need on your roster. You might think that SP with a projected overall of 89 is a guaranteed future MVP. Turns out you don't have a lot of cash in projected scouting and he"s landing well below that, or he has 70+ range and/ or 70+ arm strength so his overall is skewed by those ratings.
I made some stupid deals early on because I didn't fully underatand how these player ratings work. And for all the experienced owners out there who will guide you in the right direction, there are others who will jump at the chance to rake you over the coals.
The bottom line is you have to do whatever you think will benefit your team but I would suggest you take your time getting better acquainted with the game before dismantling your roster.

Cool. I think I will. What would you say are the rough recommended $$$ to put into the funding categories? I put very little into advanced scouting and not regret it.

I put 20m in training(development/decline in physical ratings) and medical(injury recovery). I put 0 in ADV because I don't need it. I seldom trade for 2nd year players and that's the only time I'd find it useful. The rest are fluid.