MLB 15 The Show: Rebuilding the Phillies

Feature Article

Submitted on: 05/19/2015 by Jeremy Chisenhall

The Phillies are not exactly setting the league on fire so far in the early 2015 season. They are a struggling team, and it is quite clear to everyone that they need to rebuild. For fans of MLB The Show, Philadelphia can be a fun and challenging project to rebuild in franchise mode. For those of you trying this, here are a few things to try out.

Dump Some Starters

The Phillies have 11 starters on their roster, which is right up there with other teams for the most in the league. Only four of those pitchers have a potential of B or above, so not all of them are going to be groundbreaking talents at the Major League level. Set your five-man rotation, and then trade off or release some of the lower-rated pitchers in order to free up more space for prospects to build around, or stars to make changes right away.

Trade One Veteran

The Phillies have a roster loaded with players who were some of the best players in the league. Now, they essentially have a roster of guys either past their prime or just about to pass their prime. Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Aaron Harang are all veterans on this team who could probably be let go in order to bring some younger players into the organization. Let go of at least one or two of the veterans and use the space and money that you save to acquire some new young talent.

Ben Revere and Cody Asche

Revere and Asche are two of the higher-rated players on the roster for the Phils, and they are still pretty young with high potentials. Revere has an 81 overall rating with a B potential, and Asche has a 73 overall with a B potential as well. The higher potentials show that these guys could important pieces in your rebuild, and the MLB experience they’re getting now could go a long way to further preparing them for vital roles. Be sure to train these two and develop them as well as you can.

Find a Shortstop

The shortstop is often the captain of the team for a reason: they have to be one of the best players on the team and play an important role. The Phillies are really lacking in ability at the shortstop position. The starting SS, Freddy Galvis, has a 73 overall rating and only a C potential, so there is not likely to be a lot of further development for him. His backup, Andres Blanco, is not looking any better. A good idea would be to look to free agency for a replacement. Ian Desmond will be a free agent in 2016, and he is a major step up in talent from what the Phillies currently have. Acquiring Desmond in the offseason would be a major step forward in the rebuilding process.

Find Ryan Howard’s Replacement

At 35 years old, Howard is likely not too far from retirement. His overall is now just 75, and there is no doubt he is in decline. The best thing to do for first base is find a replacement for the power-swinging Howard. There is not a lot of potential within the organization below him, so it may be best to look to free agency and the draft. Chris Davis is a 2016 free agent, so he would be a good replacement if you can get him. Otherwise, look to the draft to find a corner infielder with high potential that you can develop into a power threat for years to come.

The Phillies are not likely to be winning any league pennants this year, but anyone who likes to rebuild can have them on the fast track to Championships if they put the work in...*cough* Hamels*cough*

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Member Comments

# 21 37 @ 05/27/15 05:31 PM

i'll stop beating around the bush and reveal the intended reason behind the Hamels question...I was wondering if he is worth a blue-chip prospect (notably Baez)....i'll wait up to the deadline to increase Hamels value if need be....majority of responses have pretty much steered me towards no so I probably should look elsewhere

# 22 37 @ 05/27/15 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingV2k3


	I'm restarting soon with PHI, but I noticed in my previous CHC franchise that due to regression, Lee "falls off a cliff" () after year one... His OVR takes about a ten point dive, along with attributes across the board... Has anyone tried to deal him away in Season One? From the look of things, I'm now considering building a rotation around Hammels, while trying to deal Lee and Papelbon away for prospects in 2015 / pretty much eating the Utley and Ruiz deals and then possibly trying to dump Howard for whatever in 2016...

Lee wiil go regardless of Hamel's situation so I am very curious as well...

# 23 RogueHominid @ 05/27/15 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 37


	Lee wiil go regardless of Hamel's situation so I am very curious as well...

I'n my version, Lee is 9-2 at coming up on the AS break with a sub-2.00 ERA. He's absolutely murdering it. I don't think you get a blue-chipper for him, but you might be able to get a role player or a high-C, low-B prospect in return.

I don't see why Hamels would appeal to Chicago, which is building around youth and seems to value the accumulation of assets rather than their liquidation. I suppose anything is possible, but I would see someone like La Stella as a more reasonable target for CHI IF, and if anything, I think Castro is the guy that will go once the Baez and Russell are fully acclimated to the bigs.

Personally, I don't think you have to go trade-crazy with PHI to make them work, and I agree with Geister that Hamels can actually give you either a legit ace or an excellent #2 for several years to come. That's hard to find, so I'd be inclined to keep an asset like that.

I was going to deal him at the break in my franchise, but I'm not 100% sure I will now.

# 24 37 @ 05/27/15 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trojan Man


	I'n my version, Lee is 9-2 at coming up on the AS break with a sub-2.00 ERA. He's absolutely murdering it. I don't think you get a blue-chipper for him, but you might be able to get a role player or a high-C, low-B prospect in return. I don't see why Hamels would appeal to Chicago, which is building around youth and seems to value the accumulation of assets rather than their liquidation. I suppose anything is possible, but I would see someone like La Stella as a more reasonable target for CHI IF, and if anything, I think Castro is the guy that will go once the Baez and Russell are fully acclimated to the bigs. Personally, I don't think you have to go trade-crazy with PHI to make them work, and I agree with Geister that Hamels can actually give you either a legit ace or an excellent #2 for several years to come. That's hard to find, so I'd be inclined to keep an asset like that. I was going to deal him at the break in my franchise, but I'm not 100% sure I will now.

I wasn't expecting a blue-chipper for Lee so low-B could work....I brought up Chicago because of their abundance of MIF'ers and the fact that they don't have much behind Lester and Arrieta...of course all this is going on the premise that the Cubs is contending somewhere near the AS break and needs a front-end starter badly....plus im REALLY high on Baez haha.....and yeah if a blue-chipper is out of the question for Hamels, it'd make sense to retain him...we'll see

# 25 RogueHominid @ 05/27/15 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 37


	I wasn't expecting a blue-chipper for Lee so low-B could work....I brought up Chicago because of their abundance of MIF'ers and the fact that they don't have much behind Lester and Arrieta...of course all this is going on the premise that the Cubs is contending somewhere near the AS break and needs a front-end starter badly....plus im REALLY high on Baez haha.....and yeah if a blue-chipper is out of the question for Hamels, it'd make sense to retain him...we'll see

Depending on the roster you use, Baez can be insane. In the Redsfan roster he has near generationally elite power. OSFM V2 has him much more toned down.

I have a thing for La Stella. He's a pretty complete player with good potential, and he flies under a lot of folks' radar. But he clearly isn't Baez, and the heart wants what it wants, so to speak.

# 26 tinjgn @ 05/28/15 12:00 AM

I must say, it's very weird seeing such an article as I have played this game since its inception and first time I am ever seeing my team in one of these articles.

# 27 rjackson @ 05/28/15 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redsox4evur


	If you are going for realism it's 2 top 5 organizational prospects, which turns out to be 2 top 100 guys and a package of lesser prospects probably in the 7-10 organizational range.

I disagree. That is what PHI has been rumored to be asking and nobody is biting - which shows that they are asking for more than the market will allow. I would say 2 prospects that are not the top prospects, like those without top 50 icons - focus on 'B' potentials. You can still get pretty good ones. You could probably get another C prospect as well.

Also, I'd ask in this thread and be specific that you are looking for realism.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...on-thread.html

# 28 canuckle17 @ 06/01/15 02:25 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.

# 29 APinkOtakuLover @ 06/05/15 02:17 AM

As a Philadelphia native & Phillies fan i luv 2 use my created players based off of anime characters from my favorite animes like Sailor Moon which i use 4 the Phillies,Tokyo Mew Mew 4 the Mets because i luv the Phillies Mets rivalry & Fate/Stay Night 4 the Atlanta Braves.

# 30 dubplate @ 06/05/15 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 37


	I wasn't expecting a blue-chipper for Lee so low-B could work....I brought up Chicago because of their abundance of MIF'ers and the fact that they don't have much behind Lester and Arrieta...of course all this is going on the premise that the Cubs is contending somewhere near the AS break and needs a front-end starter badly....plus im REALLY high on Baez haha.....and yeah if a blue-chipper is out of the question for Hamels, it'd make sense to retain him...we'll see

Sounds like you and I are like minded as I really want Baez on my Phillies team as well. The general consensus seems to be no, but I keep reading articles on how he is the most likely to be traded, not Castro.

I was considering another trade with the Cubs for Schwarber and Edwards but haven't pulled the trigger.

# 31 nyqu1st @ 06/20/15 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbking26


	Do a Cubs one.

That would be way too easy

# 32 timisone @ 06/22/15 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trojan Man


	At the draft, I'm 30-25, 4 games behind the Braves, who are cruising at 33-20. So far the interesting stories regarding pitching center on Hamels and Lee. My playing strategy is to use one pitcher, pitch all of his starts, and sim the rest. Hamels is my personal pitcher. In 11 starts, I have yet to be the winning pitcher of record once. I'm 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.38. Only 5 of those starts have been quality starts. Hamels has been laboring consistently, with lots of 20-pitch innings. Lee by contrast has been a killer. He's 8-2 with a 1.94 ERA, 3 CG, 2 SO, and a .95 WHIP. If he keeps this up, he'll likely be the more attractive trade chip at the deadline. On the other side of things, I'm having a terrible time generating consistent offense. Ryan Howard (.161 AVG, 3 HR) and Domonic Brown (.171 AVG, 2 HR) have played their way out of the lineup, and I now have Ruf in RF, Franco at 1B, and Asche at 3B. Utley is by far the most productive hitter, with a .290 AVG and 5 HR. It's sad that I'm having to contemplate this, but I may move him to cleanup. The first year draft was encouraging. Here's what I got: 1. Sergio Quintero, SP, A POT, 64 OVR 2. Julio Vasquez, LF, A POT, 71 OVR 3. Steven Gonzales, RP, C POT, 61 OVR 4. Henry Soriano, 2B, C POT, 63 OVR 5. Abraham Barton, CF, D POT, 70 OVR 6. Samuel Valentin, 3B, D POT, 56 OVR 7. Lincoln Kaufman, 1B, D POT, 42 OVR I think my top 3 will contribute in 2 years, and my 4 and 5 picks could contribute in 3-5 years if they do well in the minors.

Lee is hurt so in my rebuilding I keep him in single a, then just dont resign at the end of the season. Any trades or using him is really not realistic at all. Maybe next year using him but I believe he is done for this year.

# 33 romeosdistress @ 10/05/15 06:01 PM

jp crawford should be the replacement at ss, but i traded for javier baez. and drafted well the first draft.

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