MLB 15 The Show: How to Rebuild the Twins

Feature Article

Submitted on: 05/04/2015 by Jeremy Chisenhall

It’s no secret that the Minnesota Twins are a franchise in rebuild mode. If you’re a Twins fan, this can be painstakingly unfortunate to watch as the team looks to reset and find a new group of players to put them into contention for a title run. However, if you do not like watching the team rebuild in real life, you can do it correctly yourself in MLB 15 The Show.

Here are the key steps on how to get the Twin City team back into contention as quickly as possible, with many of these tips being able to be used with other franchises in a general sense as well.

Develop the Younger Guys

This is an obvious key to any roster rebuild in sports, but it still should be noted because the Twins have Brian Dozier, currently 27 years old, at second base. While he’s not fresh out of school, he still has plenty of his baseball career left ahead of him. With a current rating of 84 OVR and a B grade potential, Dozier has a chance to lead the Twins into their next title run once the pieces are in place.

In addition to focusing on Dozier, make sure to use the training feature and improve the skills of any players in the organization whom you expect to make a major impact once your team is rebuilt. Training the young players with high-grade potential can get them to a Major League playing ability more quickly, meaning your rebuild goes even faster.

Trade the Declining Veterans.

There are quite a few guys on this Twins roster whose best days are behind them. Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter, and Doug Bernier are all past their prime at this point. Holding onto them and draining any of the trade value they still have while in rebuild mode would not serve much of a purpose, so trading them away for younger talent to develop would serve you better in improving the Twins future. In The Show, you don't have to worry about ticking off fans too much by trading staples away to other franchises in exchange for young talent.

Look for Free Agents

In baseball, the players you draft draft do not have the immediate impact that they have in basketball of football. This makes it important to find guys who are already developed stars to lead your team. On top of that, while trading away the veterans will give you some fresh talent, it will also leave gaping holes in your roster. The first baseman behind Mauer, Kennys Vargas, is a 61 OVR, and the only other MLB right fielder behind Hunter is 62 OVR. If you don’t look for free agents to cover the spots left open by veterans, it would allow younger prospects to get MLB playing time, but either way you’re going to need to acquire some star talent at some point.

Focus on finding guys like Jason Heyward and Chris Davis. They are guaranteed to improve your lineup, and they are still young enough to play multiple seasons at a high level; allowing you to continue to rebuild knowing that they will still be a force when your team is ready to make a serious run.

Also, look for pitching talent. Phil Hughes certainly isn’t a bad pitcher, but you can find better in the 2016 free agent pool. Getting a higher-rated guy around the same age, like Jordan Zimmermann, can help improve a rotation that currently has two guys in it with 67 OVRs.

Play Minor League Games

This sort of goes back to trying to develop young talent. The current AAA guys and some of the AA guys are likely going to be making up the majority of your team when you are in position to make a World Series run, so it would be best to get a feel for playing as them in-game. Utilize all the starters in their rotations, test all the relievers, and get comfortable with the future of your Twins franchise.

Time to Get to Work

Minnesota fans probably hate to watch their Twins lose, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change the Twin City fortune themselves. Putting the Twins into franchise mode and developing young minor leaguers while signing some big name free agents can put you and your Twins at the top of the baseball world, no matter how long it may actually take in real life.

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Member Comments

# 1 cardinalbird5 @ 05/04/15 05:18 PM

Minnesota is actually fairly simple to rebuild. Scout pitching and let your prospects develop. Id also keep Mauer and trade Hunter.

# 2 timmermac @ 05/04/15 05:38 PM

I would also start looking for ways to get Sano and Buxton playing time at the big league level, as they are going to be the core of the next good Twins team.

# 3 APinkOtakuLover @ 05/04/15 05:47 PM

I'm not a twins fan but i would luv 2 rebuild the twins & get them 2 b playoff contenders.

# 4 sconno3 @ 05/05/15 11:18 AM

I would keep Mauer and Hunter as well. Hunter is on a one year deal, although could be good for a midseason trade, but he wants to retire a twin. Id keep Mauer because I wouldnt say hes past his prime in my opinion. Just needs pieces around him.

# 5 thatzacdavis @ 05/05/15 02:03 PM

You could easily get some solid prospects with a mid season trade of Hunter.

# 6 Twinkie12 @ 05/05/15 03:39 PM

I decided to trade Dozier instead of build around him. He doesn't hit righties all that well, and he can fetch an A level middle infield prospect, a solid pitcher, and perhaps a third average player.

Perkins is an option to deal too. I decided to keep him, but a closer for a rebuilding team isnt all that important and he can fetch a lot in a trade too. If you can get a couple more good prospects to pair with Buxton and Sano, you'll have a good young core for a long time.

# 7 cnelly4 @ 05/05/15 08:11 PM

Bernier has trade value???? Haha!

# 8 Knight165 @ 05/05/15 09:05 PM

Do you move Mauer?

If so...can you actually get someone to take him on?

That's gotta be tough.

M.K.
Knight165

# 9 Rattler17 @ 05/05/15 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight165


	Do you move Mauer? If so...can you actually get someone to take him on? That's gotta be tough. M.K. Knight165

The thing is the AI gms look at his ratings numbers and not his age. It would be sweet if somehow a players age factored into trades. Mauer much like Hamels and Lee fetch a kings ransom on the trade market.

# 10 Gopherbacker @ 05/06/15 07:57 AM

I'm currently in year 2 of my rebuild with the Twins. I took advantage of the year to year saves and try to stay on pace with the real season playing every game. Buxton and Sano were Sept call ups last year and earned their spots on this years roster. Buxton is leading off and hitting .320 with 19 RBIs while Sano is mainly DH while we work on his D. He is hitting .254 with 6 HRs. We traded a top prospect (Rosario) for a CP (Feliz) at the end of spring training and he has 11 saves. Tried to sign big name FAs but they took less money to go to proven winners. Not surprising after we won only 70 games in year one. Currently on 6 game win streak after getting swept at home by OAK. 19-16 record

# 11 cardinalbird5 @ 05/06/15 05:30 PM

Phillies would probably be the most difficult.

# 12 Knight165 @ 05/06/15 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rattler17


	The thing is the AI gms look at his ratings numbers and not his age. It would be sweet if somehow a players age factored into trades. Mauer much like Hamels and Lee fetch a kings ransom on the trade market.

Well...his ratings do make him appealing(he is actually doing phenomenal in my carry over franchise in 2015)....but I meant his contract and contract length really. Most teams are hovering around the 10 million available line......and his contract is 4 years at 11-14 in my franchise.(not sure on the default roster for '15)

M.K.
Knight165

# 13 Speedy @ 05/06/15 09:49 PM

I pray that in 2016, SCEA reviews the batting animations...poor Mauer looks like he's about to break his wrist.

# 14 Cod @ 05/07/15 11:46 PM

If you're using a full roster, including minors, there isn't much rebuild required really since the Twins have one of the top 3 minor league systems in baseball. That system includes the #1 prospect, imo, Bryan Buxton. All they need is a few years of simulation and pitching development to be competitive in the game.

# 15 TattooedEvil @ 05/08/15 03:01 AM

With Buxton, Sano and Berrios waiting in the wings the Twins def arent as hard to rebuild as the Phillies are. Specially with those horrible contracts the Phillies have....good luck find suitors for them.

# 16 canuckle17 @ 05/08/15 06:07 AM

I like reading these types of articles. Could you please write one for every MLB team? Specifically my favourite 2 teams- The Toronto Blue Jays & New York Yankees. Is there a database of all players on the game? It'd be neat to see! It'd be helpful for signing new players and improving the organization.

What teams do you think would be the most difficult to overhaul and win a championship with?
I'd actually like to see the results of a simulated franchise mode over 20 or so years and see the standings of each team by year.

# 17 canuckle17 @ 05/08/15 06:09 AM

Creating rookie baseball players for use in MLB The Show: Road To The Show. The Road to the Show (RTTS) mode has quickly become a popular mode, and with that comes an emphasis on controlling a lesser-talented rookie player for an entire career. It�s quite real. But so is franchise mode. With that being said, I�ve come up with a new method for creating baseball players. I start with a new spreadsheet and enter in the ratings of a positional player who emphasizes speed, contact and glove. And then on the row below I enter in the attributes for a player who emphasizes strength, power and arm. Then, I have all the various skills such as contact, power, fielding ability, base running ability listed in each subsequent column. In the last column is the total number of points allocated to each player. When added up in the last column, you�ll see that the attribute ratings awarded to each type of player is fairly equal. It varies for each position, but every player ranges from 500 to 600 points. The attributes will range from 0 to 60.
Keep that in mind when creating your players. This is the most fair and authentic method in player creation on MLB The Show. Come up with a list of fictitious characters you�ve conjured up. Make them from common baseball countries such as the United States, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Japan, etc. Envision them playing Major League Baseball. What do they look like? Customize them with a specific appearance, height, weight, uniform number etc. Then assign each player his attributes using the 0 to 60 ratings. Once you have designed a plethora of players in your database then create them on your MLB game. You could either leave each of them as a free agent and wait for MLB teams to sign them or assign them to a team yourself. Personally I prefer to assign every one of my created players to an MLB team. This ensures them of playing minor league baseball right away as they won�t quite be good enough to play in the show right away. They�ll develop in the minors and work their way up, just like real life. Scatter the players around Major League Baseball, and see them flourish and become the superstars of their new teams. You�ll probably feel a sense of accomplishment when these player begin making a name for themselves and making the all-star teams and winning awards and World Series titles.

# 18 geisterhome @ 05/08/15 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canuckle17


	I like reading these types of articles. Could you please write one for every MLB team? Specifically my favourite 2 teams- The Toronto Blue Jays & New York Yankees. Is there a database of all players on the game? It'd be neat to see! It'd be helpful for signing new players and improving the organization. What teams do you think would be the most difficult to overhaul and win a championship with? I'd actually like to see the results of a simulated franchise mode over 20 or so years and see the standings of each team by year.

You should definetely use the amazing OOTP Baseball for that purpose, more realistic sim engine over a longer term and way better stat tracking too.

On topic:
I'd say the Twins aren't the best example for a team needing a rebuild. I'm not following them much in real life but in The Show the are pretty much set for the future. Thier MLB roster is already pretty decent. All they need is a real ace and a quality BP arm or 2. Many of thier propects (Buxton, Sano Rosario, Meyer) all are close to being MLB ready. Mauer is a vquality player and has at least in the game 3 to 4 good years ahead of him so I'd keep him. Hunter could be traded if you take a more video game like approach, if you want to keep it close to real life let him retire as a Twin, it won't cost you much.

# 19 SpritePuck @ 05/08/15 09:26 PM

Two months into a franchise with the Twins. One thing I disagree with is trading all the aging stars. Trading them does not help young talent develope nor gain you super talented young players. Torrii hit almost .360 in April and is hitting .340 in May. Just my opinion but keep anyone who can help you at least win some games now. Totally tanking does not help you develope players as how they play affects developement. You tradeoff the RBI guys and runs drop off and then pitchers lose more games. Hurts your young guys who would have been driven in by thems developement and your pitchers because of lost run support.

I do see the point in trying to get young developing players for them and maybe mid season trades make sense. Trading Hunter or Mauer but trading both seems kinda crazy. I would keep Joe as his contact is not easily replaced and he fields well and can catch some as in game catching is no harder on him than playing first. One reason to keep Joe is that he has not declined in any catagories for me yet (just forty games in) and should have a few decent years left. He does not impede developement as he plays two spots and Vargas is much better at DH at this point. There is simply no way to start Vargas at 1st successfully.

I agree that 2016 free agency is important and maybe just prior to that trading vets makes more sense. Also, just my opinion but one can rebuild the Twins without doing things totally unrealistic which at this point trading either Hunter or Mauer is. Torrii came back to retire a Twin. Joe is a lifer and maybe the fans in game do not care but they should. Also, both still produce! What young guy am I going to trade them for (without throwing some of my youth into the deal) who can produce? I know it is about the future but one has to do well enough to not lose your contract in three years.

I love the write up and do agree trading them now is best time to get the most for them. Guess really it is just hard to think of a Twins franchise without Mauer someday playing his last MLB game and it being asa Twin. One player to consider trading is Suzuki. Pinto can hit for some power and is not a bad player and younger than Kurt. Suzuki has decent trade value (like for a starting pitcher in the 80's once the teams list some). And since it is a video game you can still start Mauer at catcher when Pinto needs a day off.

Huge bright spots Santana plays a lot of spots as does Escobar.

Great write up... Fun team to play with..

# 20 JP7555 @ 05/10/15 11:55 AM

So, basically it's like rebuilding any other team.

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