Franchise Bullpen Pitching Logic... Fixed

[alston4659]

By no means am I expecting this to be used by or work for everyone but this is what works for me in my franchise on MLB The Show 21 (ps5) and I've gotten some pretty good results from it so here we go.

I run a 30 team controlled franchise and I've come up with some slider adjustments, coupled with a SPECIFIC NUMBER OF RELIEVERS for each team, along with their placement within the bullpen (LRP, MRP, SU and CP) that has allowed me to get realistic bullpen usage from game to game.

I'm writing this on my phone so I don't know if the screenshots will end up above or below the post but as you can see from the first 4 pics, multiple relievers are being used, they arent stretched into being used for more than 3 innings at a time and the setup men do come in during a time where they are actually needed to set up the closer. In the case of the Phillies Braves game, Soroka actually got hurt in that one and while the CPU could have stretched a guy out for 3 or 4 innings like they normally do anyway when a starter doesn't go deep into a game, they actually went from guy to guy pretty good there and 6 guys were used.

So I believe the sliders I use, the placement of the pitchers within the bullpen and the amount of relievers on all mlb rosters make a difference in bullpen usage. Again this may not work for all but I thought I'd share anyway based on the results I've found.

First up, sliders. I've tried multiple variations to get proper bullpen usage and it either ended up with every starter going 8 plus innings or them going for no more than 3 innings. So with cpu stamina(both starter and reliever) at 6 (human starter/reliever stamina also at 6 for played games to keep it fair), along with cpu hook at 7 has given me the results you see in the pictures. But like I said there's more to it than that.

As for the amount of relievers I have on each mlb roster (remember 30 team control guy here), I have only 6 relievers up at a time. Just 6. Thats NOT INCLUDING the closer. Now in the case of teams like the Cardinals and Dodgers who have like 8 good starters and (depending on which roster you use) and maybe 4 or 5 good relievers, I opted to let them have 7 starters and only 4 relievers up. So the majority of my mlb rosters consist of 5 starters and 6 relievers (and 1 closer of course) which ultimately gets rid of the quote unquote LONG MAN. And that's where the reliever placement within the bullpen comes into play.

Two of those pics that I've screenshot show the way I set up each bullpen. I have 2 guys in the LONG RELIVER SLOT but none are necessarily long men as their stamina is a basic reliever stamina 20 30 range. The MIDDLE RELIEVER SLOT has 3 guys in it while I only have 1 guy in the SETUP SLOT and of course the 1 CLOSER. So it looks like this...

LRP
LRP
MRP
MRP
MRP
SU
CP (not a reliever)

Six guys. Just six guys. Again I'm not counting the closer as one of the 6 relivers because on the roster screen the closer is not considered a reliever.

When I had 7 actual relievers in there, it just threw everything off. One guy was being used to much for whatever reason or when I had an actual long relief guy (extra starter) in the long reliever slot, he was the guy being used all the time. The way I have it now each guy ends up being used and it sometimes becomes consistent from day to day barring fatigue of course. As for the player ratings, I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I like to place them in their slots from lowest to highest. So as you can see from the pics, you have a two 75s in the long reliever slot and then a 75, 78, 78 in the middle reliever slot. It's just something that I do and something that I plan on testing more to see if it makes a difference on when certain pitchers are being used within the game.

Also, in the case of the Dodgers and Cardinals which I should have screenshot, their additional starters who are coming out of the bullpen are NOT PLACED in the long reliever slot as that will just lead to them being used all the time based on their stamina alone. They are in the middle relief slots and are used just fine, one or two innings at the most so far.

So that's it. That's my story. This is again what works for me and I can't promise that this will work for you but with so much discussion on the topic of bullpen logic I thought I'd share what I've figured out to see if it will help with anyone else's franchise as well.

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[lemarflacco]

The only issue is that not one team uses a 12 man pitching rotation. Teams use 13, if not more.

[alston4659]

This is a video game. Use whatever number of pitchers you want.

Quote: Originally Posted by lemarflacco

The only issue is that not one team uses a 12 man pitching rotation. Teams use 13, if not more.

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[jeffy777]

Quote: Originally Posted by lemarflacco

The only issue is that not one team uses a 12 man pitching rotation. Teams use 13, if not more.

If this fix really works then it's worth it. There's no point in giving the CPU extra relievers if they only use the same couple over and over.

[hitstreak13]

I've been using something like this since 15. For the closer, I will throw him the SU role and leave that slot blank from time to time (yes its consuming at times). Otherwise, he will only have 45-50 APP, all in closing situations. This way, you have guys with 60-70 APP with 35-40 SV depending on who it is.

[alston4659]

I may test the closer in the setup role, then move the setup man to the fourth middle reliever role as well because there are times in real life when the closer gets used without there being a save situation but so far with my setup the closer has only been used in closing situations.

Quote: Originally Posted by hitstreak13

I've been using something like this since 15. For the closer, I will throw him the SU role and leave that slot blank from time to time (yes its consuming at times). Otherwise, he will only have 45-50 APP, all in closing situations. This way, you have guys with 60-70 APP with 35-40 SV depending on who it is.

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[knich1]

Your title says "Fixed" So what's your sample size?

I am curious also whether these results are in played or simmed games or both?

I have not seen SPs going 8 innings in 21. They usually go 5-6 innings...sometimes 7.

Also..in 21 the CPU hasn't been using RP (even with high stamina) more than 1-2 innings. Perhaps it has to do with hook setting.

Anyhow..curious about results because the one RP that IMO is not used nearly enough or correctly is the SU.

[alston4659]

Although I just restarted my current franchise, I've been using these sliders for months and like I said above it's not just about the sliders is everything else that makes the system work for me. With the hook at default or anything below that coupled with high stamina for the starters, I've seen 8 innings or complete games multiple times and I even see 8 inning starts from time to time now too which I'm fine with. The one less pitcher on the roster I think has the biggest effect on all of the relivers being used, with the set up men only coming in pre save for the closer or when there's a tie/non save situation. And yes these results are in both simmed and played games. I sim every cpu game before I play my game of the day to check out results and that's how I made the slider adjustments. Now not every simmed game has been perfect as there are rare times when I see relivers going 3 innings but over all if I can get 90 percent of the simmed games getting normal bullpen logic I'm fine with that within my franchise.

Quote: Originally Posted by knich1

Your title says "Fixed" So what's your sample size? I am curious also whether these results are in played or simmed games or both? I have not seen SPs going 8 innings in 21. They usually go 5-6 innings...sometimes 7. Also..in 21 the CPU hasn't been using RP (even with high stamina) more than 1-2 innings. Perhaps it has to do with hook setting. Anyhow..curious about results because the one RP that IMO is not used nearly enough or correctly is the SU.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Operation Sports mobile app