Scouting - Offline Franchise

[japsubie]

Im having some trouble with scouting, i want to make sure i understand it correctly. i tried searching the forums here but didnt turn up much info on good scouting tips, so i figured id make this thread and see if we can get a helpful thread going about scouting. Please help, and leave any tips you have for scouting!!

What is the best way to scout?

[wolfpack23]

I am interested in hearing others opinions as well but I will still post what works for me.

The first month I discover players in the different regions to enlarge my prospect board. I really focus on my scouts strengths during the entire process. The way I look at it is you can never have too many good players so if I have an all-star shortstop already but that what my scout finds I wouldn't be putting forth my best effort to build a team. Once April is up I begin scouting individual players with varying potential ratings since you don't want to be in the fourth round having run out of scouted prospects.

In the later rounds I am usually looking for high ceiling players who are going to take a while to develop in the minor leagues. I think the key when drafting is to know that baseball isn't like football or basketball where a drafted player makes an impact right away on your big league roster. Instead, be patient with your players and give them every opportunity to succeed since this can raise their prospect status. Obviously their are exceptions to the rule if the player is the next Mike Trout. If that's the case then by all means bring him up, but don't rush a 20 year old who is only a 75 overall if you have plenty of depth at that position. Not only can you let him tear it up in the minors but you can also delay his service time and extend club control out that much longer (this is especially important if you are a small market club).

In the end I don't think there is any one exact way to scout players. However, I would recommend having a timeline of when you want to move on to different stages of the scouting process. Also, always know what your scout's strengths are and when it comes to the draft take the best available player on the board. There is nothing that says you can't draft a shortstop and develop him as a 2nd basemen or even a center fielder. Teams do that in real life all of the time so you wouldn't be taking away from any of the realism of the game.

My last word of advice is to have balance throughout the scouting process. Don't scout all high potential and high overall players. You only have one 1st round pick and four scouts through the whole process. Spread those scouts out and try and find a diamond in the rough. Like I said earlier, you don't want to be in the later rounds of the draft picking blind and hoping to strike gold because it's probably not going to happen and you just wasted a pick.

[japsubie]

Quote: Originally Posted by wolfpack23

I am interested in hearing others opinions as well but I will still post what works for me. The first month I discover players in the different regions to enlarge my prospect board. I really focus on my scouts strengths during the entire process. The way I look at it is you can never have too many good players so if I have an all-star shortstop already but that what my scout finds I wouldn't be putting forth my best effort to build a team. Once April is up I begin scouting individual players with varying potential ratings since you don't want to be in the fourth round having run out of scouted prospects. In the later rounds I am usually looking for high ceiling players who are going to take a while to develop in the minor leagues. I think the key when drafting is to know that baseball isn't like football or basketball where a drafted player makes an impact right away on your big league roster. Instead, be patient with your players and give them every opportunity to succeed since this can raise their prospect status. Obviously their are exceptions to the rule if the player is the next Mike Trout. If that's the case then by all means bring him up, but don't rush a 20 year old who is only a 75 overall if you have plenty of depth at that position. Not only can you let him tear it up in the minors but you can also delay his service time and extend club control out that much longer (this is especially important if you are a small market club). In the end I don't think there is any one exact way to scout players. However, I would recommend having a timeline of when you want to move on to different stages of the scouting process. Also, always know what your scout's strengths are and when it comes to the draft take the best available player on the board. There is nothing that says you can't draft a shortstop and develop him as a 2nd basemen or even a center fielder. Teams do that in real life all of the time so you wouldn't be taking away from any of the realism of the game. My last word of advice is to have balance throughout the scouting process. Don't scout all high potential and high overall players. You only have one 1st round pick and four scouts through the whole process. Spread those scouts out and try and find a diamond in the rough. Like I said earlier, you don't want to be in the later rounds of the draft picking blind and hoping to strike gold because it's probably not going to happen and you just wasted a pick.

these are some great tips!! do you put all 4 of your scouts to discover in the month of april? and then take all 4 and scout individual players??

[ShaBoomer]

Quote: Originally Posted by wolfpack23

There is nothing that says you can't draft a shortstop and develop him as a 2nd basemen or even a center fielder. Teams do that in real life all of the time so you wouldn't be taking away from any of the realism of the game.

Have they changed the way defense works? In previous years, if you put a player at their secondary fielding position they played at 80% of their fielding ratings, and if they were out of position (so neither a primary or secondary) they played at 60%.

I know it's not hard to draft a player and then manually edit him to add a secondary position or change the primary position, but if you do that, what's the point of caring about who you draft? (for me anyway...)


One of the first things I do with scouting is look at my actual scouts. I take a look at who else is available to hire, and how they fit into my budget. If I have enough budget, I might fire a scout or two and hire better ones.

I try and have a mix of 1 scout really good at discovery, 1 scout really good with position players, 1 scout suited for pitchers, and 1 "balanced" scout.

Then I stick the ones with the best discovery rating on discovery (duh) and scout players based on the ratings of the other scouts. Once everyone is discovered, I take a look at my scouts again. If I have a scout with high discovery and lower ratings everywhere else, I look at hiring somebody else again.

Obviously I would be a hated boss in real life, but these aren't real people in the game so I don't mind using them a little.

Once the draft comes, I look at my depth chart. In the first 2 rounds I take the best player available and then fill out my depth chart with my remaining picks.

[stlcards234]

Pretty good advice here. Here's what I try to do:


Hire/Fire scouts regularly to maximize the stat that is appropriate to what you want to do. There isn't a financial penalty to hiring/firing scouts as if they were players. As long as you have the budget for them, you're good!


Like the above poster mentioned, I discover players for the first month or so using scouts with the highest discovery rating and position player rating (if I'm scouting position players) or pitcher player rating (if I'm scouting pitchers). I'm not 100% sure if the player ratings factor in to how fast they discover players (if at all). Make sure you set your scouts to something before your first regular season game. There are a few days between opening day and your first game when your scouts can still work. Every day counts, and early June will come faster than you think!


After the first month of discovery, I re-hire scouts with the highest efficiency and player ratings (pitcher if I scout pitchers, position if I scout position). I try to scout players with an MLB expected of 2-4 years and potential of 85+. I actually try to avoid next year debuts because they tend to be players that have high overall, but low potential. These can be good bench guys but I'm looking for star power. I can always trade for bench/bullpen. I also never scout RP for that reason.


Personally, I prioritize finding good position players over pitchers but just my preference. Check back every day, and if their potential drops below 80, I stop scouting them. I stop scouting around 65-70% if their potential is still above 90. I stop scouting around 75-80% if their potential is 85 or more (usually just one more day). It seems kind of backwards (stop scouting a higher potential guy) but my reasoning is that I can be more certain that a player with 90+ potential at 65-70% can be a good player. But if a guy is at 85 potential or so is at 65-70%, I am still unsure if I really want to draft him. I never scout anyone beyond 80% or so.


Contrary to one of the above poster, I try to ONLY scout the highest initially rated prospects. Through my simulations, players in the draft vary widely on when they are drafted. I had a guy with 93 Pot, 54 OVR get drafted as early as the first round, and as late as the fifth!


But your farm system hinges on more than proper scouting- you have to draft right too! I'll post something else later that better explains my thought process on the draft.

[japsubie]

Quote: Originally Posted by stlcards234

Pretty good advice here. Here's what I try to do: Hire/Fire scouts regularly to maximize the stat that is appropriate to what you want to do. There isn't a financial penalty to hiring/firing scouts as if they were players. As long as you have the budget for them, you're good! Like the above poster mentioned, I discover players for the first month or so using scouts with the highest discovery rating and position player rating (if I'm scouting position players) or pitcher player rating (if I'm scouting pitchers). I'm not 100% sure if the player ratings factor in to how fast they discover players (if at all). Make sure you set your scouts to something before your first regular season game. There are a few days between opening day and your first game when your scouts can still work. Every day counts, and early June will come faster than you think! After the first month of discovery, I re-hire scouts with the highest efficiency and player ratings (pitcher if I scout pitchers, position if I scout position). I try to scout players with an MLB expected of 2-4 years and potential of 85+. I actually try to avoid next year debuts because they tend to be players that have high overall, but low potential. These can be good bench guys but I'm looking for star power. I can always trade for bench/bullpen. I also never scout RP for that reason. Personally, I prioritize finding good position players over pitchers but just my preference. Check back every day, and if their potential drops below 80, I stop scouting them. I stop scouting around 65-70% if their potential is still above 90. I stop scouting around 75-80% if their potential is 85 or more (usually just one more day). It seems kind of backwards (stop scouting a higher potential guy) but my reasoning is that I can be more certain that a player with 90+ potential at 65-70% can be a good player. But if a guy is at 85 potential or so is at 65-70%, I am still unsure if I really want to draft him. I never scout anyone beyond 80% or so. Contrary to one of the above poster, I try to ONLY scout the highest initially rated prospects. Through my simulations, players in the draft vary widely on when they are drafted. I had a guy with 93 Pot, 54 OVR get drafted as early as the first round, and as late as the fifth! But your farm system hinges on more than proper scouting- you have to draft right too! I'll post something else later that better explains my thought process on the draft.

awesome, definitely post more please. also, is efficiency rating basically how quickly they can fully scout an individual player? or is it how thoroughly/accurate?

[wolfpack23]

Quote: Originally Posted by ShaBoomer

I know it's not hard to draft a player and then manually edit him to add a secondary position or change the primary position, but if you do that, what's the point of caring about who you draft? (for me anyway...)

My general rule of thumb on this is if the player is an up the middle player they should in theory be the best athletes on the field. I exclude catchers in the up the middle category for this rule. For example, a drafted shortstop who can run I have no problem editing him to make him a full time outfielder in the minors. However, you would never see me draft a right fielder and move him in to play shortstop. I look at it on a case by case basis and if I think it's a feasible option I do it. But, if I draft a player at a position I'm stacked at but I think the player could develop into a stud at that specific spot I won't change anything and just worry about the issue when it arises. The way I look at it that's a good problem to have.

[wolfpack23]

Quote: Originally Posted by japsubie

awesome, definitely post more please. also, is efficiency rating basically how quickly they can fully scout an individual player? or is it how thoroughly/accurate?

I think that it is a little bit of both.