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UK Rebuild Thread

NML

Well-Known Member
UPDATE TIME

As of now, we are only one of two teams in the south with a winning record since the all star break, and that's after trading a ton of pieces away. So things have been infinitely better since the start of the rebuild. We've also added a handful of nice pieces in the draft, which I'll talk about once the draft wraps up.

Here's a "winners and losers" from everything since my last post in here:

WINNERS
PJ Byrne: on pace to be our first 5 WARS WON player in a few years (possibly since Alvarado's MVP season). The move to RF has done wonders for him - now a ++ fielder instead of a -.

Top of the bullpen: Kelvin Armstrong 10/5'd an option for greener pastures and was rewarded with the stopper role. In addition to him, Duce, Potter, and rookie Robles all have ERAs under 3. That trio have combined for 19 wins. Even Utpadel, a middle of the year minor league signing, is 7-0.

Carlos Alvarado: a focus on defense allowed him to slide back into the starting lineup and he took advantage. He's put together his best ever season and got a bump in the recent player dev report. He's no longer fragile and could become a solid starting SS moving forward. He's earned another year at least.

Fernando Ramos: another who was able to get consistent starts with a new-look roster, and he's performed above replacement level. His personality may be his undoing, but he'll come into 2068 as our starting DH

LOSERS
Rotation: the new system should prop up their ERAs to a new level, especially with the defense. Hasn't happened. Arce and Renton have been decent. Other two have been poor.

AJ Gorman: not due to his play, but he fractured his finger and then suffered a set back that required surgery. He had elevated his play since coming over, but takes a step back with this injury.

Cost of Success: we are moving farther and farther from the bottom four teams and closer to the muddied middle. Having 1-5 would be nice. In addition, Duce has moved from angry to unhappy and may execute his $14m player option.
 

TonyGin&Juice

Sucking off Lawn Guy Land hobos.
That's really too bad about AJ Gorman because I still think he has a good chance to be an elite defensive CFer. I feel bad that I rushed him to the WBL level but potential elite defensive CFers are incredibly rare and he'd done really well in AA last year I figured it was worth the gamble. The guy he was traded for (Juan Ramirez) has been pretty bad but the BABIP gods have not been smiling on him lately (0.429 so far with MIA).

Really curious how your rotation will do this final month. Especially Arce with his .230 BABIP magic. Kind of dig the closer-by-committee approach but with the 50 pitch four man rotation you've got to give a ton of innings to the bullpen so specialized roles have to take a backseat. I am kind of surprised you have Nadir as a LOOGY - he'd probably do well in middle relief or mop-up and eat up more innings. Really curious where you see Robles going after this season. I reel e liked him in that draft class and think he can probably be a really solid #2 or #3 if that CU improves. The BABIP gods appear to be smiling down on him too.

I borrowed a page from ur book and attempted giving my pitchers more than just 4x4 posts with gloves for defense and so far so good. Moving guys to their best defensive position, like you did with Byrne, has paid off really well in the OF but CF continues to be a serious struggle. Some how SOME BUM CF (@fignuts) has managed to put up positive 1.7 WAR this season without having a catastrophic injury which has been #THE_SHOCKER. I'm sure he'll run head first into a concrete pillar on a locker room dare this sim and give hisself a permanent concussion but for right now I'm pretty happy and so are the pitchers.
 

NML

Well-Known Member
DRAFT RESULTS

Our first draft with our new focus! Despite trading away our 3rd round pick and selling our 2nd, we managed to have five picks in the first four rounds by way of our fire sale. We snagged 1-14 (among others) in our deal with Cairo and got a 2nd and 4th from Moscow when we shipped out Muli and Amore. I won't look past the fifth round, as I believe every thing past that are various levels of lottery tickets. FWIW, I made every selection in the first nine rounds before I figured the lottery tickets were more likely to get cut.

9th overall: Greg Crosby, 2B: Crosby is a four-time college all-star, coming off his best season yet - 5.3 WARS WON as well as being named the all star game MVP. He checks all the boxes, although he isn't elite at anything. A college shortstop, I will be moving him to second base where I think he'll transition to a + glove. Average contact with a great avoid K and solid speed, he'll hit for a decent average with some pop for the middle infield (60 gap, 55 power). A clubhouse leader, as well. There's not much to dislike about Crosby, other than his relatively low ceiling. He has a very high floor, however, and a solid player for ninth overall.

Other considerations: a bunch of catchers. I had three on my list to watch with little to separate them. With us having another pick just five spots later, I figured one would fall to me.

14th: TRADED for 22 and Francisco Castillo, C. @OU11 had mentioned to a few people about trading up, and Castillo was someone mentioned as the best defensive catcher earlier in this thread by @Travis7401, so I had my eye on him. It was an easy deal for me to make as I thought Castillo was more well-rounded than any of the catchers I was choosing from. I was also able to get the 22nd overall pick.

Other considerations: again, the catchers.

22nd: Hedeon Yarusov, 3B: Yarusov is a former first round pick by @doh out of high school, who has declined since then. Still, he has an adequate bat, ++ speed, and a ++ glove at the corner. High loyalty and high intelligence with a solid, if unspectacular, college career. About what you'd expect out of a second round pick. And like Crosby, he's a high floor guy. My only concern is that I drafted someone very similar in the second round last year and he's done very well in AA. Yarusov looks to be the better player, but its close.

Other considerations: Brock Newton, a catcher later taken by @ebarws6, was my top rated catcher and was nearly my choice at 9, would've been my pick at 14 if I hadn't traded it, and was still available here. I almost pulled the trigger anyways, but Newton's personality was ultimately the deciding factor.

31st: Roger Mossop, CF: Mossop is a ++ fielder at all three outfield spots as well as 3B. His average contact, eye, and avoid eye as well as + speed should translate to a respectable to bat that pairs well with his glove. A great fourth outfielder who has the potential to be a starter at any position - his highest upside will be at center, but he'll likely see time in the minors at all three.

Other considerations: Ivo Paramos, later a Buffalo selection, was my second choice. My concern with Paramos was that he might not have the range to be a + fielder at short, and I didn't want to draft another second baseman.

63rd: Bernalldo Colmiero, SP: Colmiero is a weird prospect: undrafted after a poor high school career, he rides the bench at Delaware for three years before finally playing this past season, putting up decent numbers. His potential is great for a fourth round starting pitcher, but his ratings are not where they should be at age 20. Still, a lefty with 70 stamina and 59% GB, with 55, 50, 50 potential and three pitches is good value here.

Other considerations: My second choice fell to me at 67, see below.

67th: Geraldo Balsamo, SP: Balsamo has a similar potential to Colmiero - 50 across the board, lefty, with three well-developed pitches. A four year starter, but unimpressive stats. Being nearly fully at his potential (50, 45, 45 current ratings), he should've put up better numbers. That's the risk here. But if he actually plays at his ratings, he has a chance to fill that "6th starter/long relief" role.

Other considerations: Weirdly, no pitchers were taken between this and my 5th rounder, so again we got our second choice.

81st: Takuma Takahashi, SP: Another SP with respectable potential. In retrospect, I think I was so focused on getting a couple pitchers that I missed the better pick, which I talk about below. Takahashi is ur typical AAAA pitcher, with a not so great personality.

Other considerations: De Hoan is the guy I should've taken. A ++ shortstop who could also be a fourth outfielder. Hoan could be, fairly easily, developed into a do-it-all utility guy. Nice one, @fignuts

This was a top heavy draft that, unfortunately, we missed out of the GOATs. Still, we acquire four players who should contribute, if not start, within three seasons at the majors in Crosby, Castillo, Yarusov, and Mossop.
 

NML

Well-Known Member
BUMP

Our first season with our new strategy was definitely a success. On the back of a late push and some tanking, we snuck into the playoffs and used our form to make a run to the World Series - where we were one out away from forcing a game seven. As I said in the first post, I didn't want to bottom out and tank, but I never imagined a run like that. Lots to talk about; I'll start at the top and work my way down:

UK KINGS

While our record hovered around .500 most of the year, the Cheating Fax's skewed our numbers quite a bit. We were a decent team that peaked at the right time. Still, even I can agree that we were one of the least talented teams in the league. Our bats outside of PJ Byrne - one of the top players in the league not on Fax - were very average. Brian Brown and Juan Reyes added some pop, giving me a solid 3-4-5. We manufactured a ton of runs - lead the league with 280 stolen bases, compared to 55 caught stealing - which added up to being third in the league in runs scored. On the pitching side of things, we essentially had eight #3/4 caliber starters. Only two "natural" relievers contributed significantly. The GIMMICK system was in full force, as it presented a very average staff as the second best in the runs allowed in the WBL.

PITCHING

There's definitely been some lessons learned here.

1) Give me an average starter over an above average reliever any day. Kelvin Armstrong fell out of favor quickly as the season progressed, which boiled over in the playoffs, as I went closer by committee. I do hope that Robin Podmore will be "the guy" next year just for the 9th, but we had a lot of success in our playoff run without a closer. A guy like Conrad Beard - who used to start for Istanbul and posted back to back negative WAR seasons - went 16-3 with a 1.68 ERA in 140 innings. I think an elite reliever (like I hope Podmore will be) still has value, but I used to have six or seven good relievers in my bullpen. No more.

2) The stamina thing. I still haven't completely figured this out, but the stamina system is... weird. Jose Centena could throw 40 pitches every other day. It's amazing. In our series against Buffalo, he started games 1, 4, and 6. Now he has 80 stamina so it makes some sense. But so does Elian Torres, who was getting three days off and was still only at 79%. Torres is 38, but Centena is 37. Torres does have a more significant injury history, so I think that comes into play. But Jesus Arce, who is an IRON MAN, also struggled with 70 stamina. And he's only 34. Then someone like Paul Renton - with no injury history and 27, who also can't do it because his stamina is only 55.

Clearly its a combination of things. I wish I had exported more often to see where they were each time, but these are my general observations. Any of them can throw 60 pitches and come back with four days off. Centena is the only one who can throw 50 and come back after two days off at 100%. I eventually settled on a 4-man staff on 60 pitch count. They would occasionally pitch at 80%, but I didn't notice a big drop off since they are only throwing a few innings anyways. I would throw a fifth starter in when we had multiple weeks in a row without a day off to get everyone back to normal. This is still a work in progress.

3) Moving forward: Centena is going to start. A lot. Probably my opening day pitcher and I'll throw him as much as I can. Robin Swanton will too. He had a great post-season after being a September call up, and my manager must love him. Paul Renton will continue to go - he's probably my best pitcher, despite going 0-11. Cox, Torres, and Podmore will be back in the pen. Cliff Potter tentatively agreed to a 2 year, $5m deal, so hopefully he's back. But we are bare after that. Tomas Robles is out until June. Arce, Beard, Leser, and Utpadel are walking (surprisingly only Arce would negotiate). We will need to fill in here during the off-season.

BATTING

1) The small ball system isn't dead. We lead the WBL in stolen bases and manufactured enough runs through our non 3-4-5 spots to make us look decent offensively. PJ Byrne is a legit MVP candidate, Juan Reyes is a solid DH, but we lack much outside of that. We've got a bunch of below average bats with good speed and great defense. The playoffs were a microcosm of that. Our aggressive base running stole us a couple games, but we also ran ourselves out of innings a few times - I think we were thrown out a home seven times during the playoffs.

2) Platooning. This was big for us. Our catcher platoon put us as one of the best in the league in production from that spot. They combined for 5.8 WARS WON. Horse Face and Carlos Alvarado were solid, as well. All four of these players are back and will continue to do so next season. Towards the end, I platooned my outfield as well. This is easier to do since I can have an extra bat on the team with less arms in the bullpen due to the GIMMICK system.

3) Going forward: Everyone is back besides Brian Brown. I think I'm going to let him walk despite his success with me. I may bring him back on a 1 year deal, but Felix Lopez in AAA seems ready. YOUP also returns from injury, which is great. He had a nice start before getting hurt, but he may also die ratings-wise. We shall see. Alvin Clark was a revelation in center field. My scout likes him a lot more than OSA, so he'll be the guy at least to start the year. AJ Gorman was somewhat of a disappointment, so he'll likely be our fourth OF.

More to come...
 

Travis7401

Douglass Tagg
Community Liaison
Rebuild? Don't you have to build... fuck me Wooly's jump start sent him straight to the WORLD SERIES! :laughing:
 
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TonyGin&Juice

Sucking off Lawn Guy Land hobos.
easy to do when you're playing an A ball minor league team

The funnies part about that is Wooly keeps liking posts here even after he was kicked from da league. I wonder how much he cried in his minivan in Utah when @NML was pounding that fuckstick A team like a $2 whore in the SLDS.
 

NML

Well-Known Member
MINOR LEAGUE REVIEW

Our GIMMICK pitching staff and heavy focus on defense went all the way through the minors, and we can our best season yet. Our AAA team went 71-54, falling in the AAA WS to *deleted team*. Our A-ball club went 70-55, yet finished 19 games back? They also had an amazing 7-20 record in one run games. Only our AA team failed to win 70+ games, going 61-64. A big issue I have that showed on that team is pitching prospects. I drafted a handful last draft to contribute to our A club, but not much in AA.

AAA Starz

1) Felix Lopez, 3B: A second round pick two seasons ago, my scout loves him and he followed up an elite year AA with an all-star season in AAA. He's between a + and ++ glove at the corner, with opinions on his bat being mediocre (OSA) to above average (team scout). He has always outperformed his ratings, so hopefully that continues. We'll see what happens to his development over the next six months, but he's penciled in as our starting 3B.

2) Robin Swanton, SP: A former $3m IFA, he filed for MiLFA after last season and we picked him up in the early parts of the off-season. He was solid, if unspectacular, in AAA, but did enough to earn a September call-up, where he started five games with a 1.96 ERA. He carried that over into the post-season, and as a favorite of my bench corch, threw 19 innings of solid relief pitching.

3) Francisco Castillo, C: Acquired in a draft trade last year, Castillo had a respectable first season in AAA. While I initially hoped he'd be ready to be called up with upcoming season, he likely needs another year in the minors before joining us in 2070. He's elite defensively (75 rating) and his bat projects above average. His .427 OBP is a good sign.

AA Starz

1) Ted Andreassen, 1B: Ted has a very unique defensive skill set. He'd be a neutral defender anywhere in the infield, but likely no higher. His bat is fairly limited as well, so I tried him at first starting last season, and there's been some improvement. The ceiling on his bat is low, but he's 80 rated defensively. He'll need some bumps in his bat to make it to the majors, but he's intriguing and had a great season in AA.

2) Greg Crosby, 2B: The switch from short to second didn't even take a year. He's between a + and ++ glove now and hit 33 homers to go along with it. Would've liked more than a .258 average, but he outperformed his 30 eye by drawing 53 walks. He'll make the move to AAA with an eye on 2070, though I may hold him until 2071 if Cristian Rodriguez has a repeat of his last season.

3) Hedeon Yarusov, 3B: Yarusov began showing signs of his ++ glove potential and a decent bat, as well. My scout likes Lopez's bat more, but Yarusov has the better glove. Whether he moves to AAA likely depends on whether Lopez is in the majors or not.

A Starz

1) Harry Wall, SP: Wall took a big step forward in his second year in A, posting a 3.35 ERA in 104 innings. His 70 stamina and health history make him a long-term possibility for a starter, and he'll move to AA and look to continue his progress.

2) Luis Delgado, SP: Similar to Wall, Delgado dropped his ERA from 5.71 to 3.18 in his second full year. And 70 stamina pitcher with a clean bill of health, these two will be an intriguing combo to watch moving forward. While their ceilings are not "ace," they would definitely have value in the GIMMICK pitching system.

3) Yuan Chung, SS: Another previously released MiLFA, Chung was our best bat, posting 3 WARS WON while mastering the shortstop position. Now equipped with a 75 defensive rating, Chung will move to AA where he'll need to improve across the board at the plate to be an option at the major league level.
 
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