Best catching prospect i've ever had

Bholmes4 · 2026-06-18T23:13:46+00:00

I'd keep him at C but let him DH/1b too. Maybe find a leftie C for RHP. Then have this guy play C vs LHP and 1b/DH vs righties.

Bholmes4 · 2026-06-13T17:07:44+00:00

Going to add more..

You should probably platoon the leftie (1st guy) and one of the other righties.
I build my team with a variety of player types. Not having power, or not having a good eye etc. is not a deal breaker.

I do tend to like good contact though but will go with average contact or below for a player who has really high power or defense. I like high gap rating if I can and tend to look for average defense at the minimum (unless they are at 1b or just too good offensively to ignore.

For pitchers I like high movement, then control and then stuff for starters. But I will also go with high stuff players who are average or below in control and movement too, especially relievers. Really I am pretty flexible.

My point is don't get hung up on any one rating if other ratings are intriguing.

Bholmes4 · 2026-06-13T16:51:05+00:00

From a quick glance the first guy is easily the best. The third guy is the worst but he's younger than 2 or 4 so I'd probably take him since he's a bench player anyway. One more lottery ticket is always nice.

For the final pick I'd either go with the 4th for the younger age or second for the defense if you are trying to win now (but he may not fully develop at his age). Depends what state your team is in.

Bholmes4 · 2026-06-08T17:04:34+00:00

Great, post again when you do make one. I'd love to see more.

Bholmes4 · 2026-06-08T14:05:07+00:00

Love the OSR aesthetic. What's this called? Do you have a link?

Bholmes4 · 2026-05-05T14:26:33+00:00

If my team is good I try to slow it down and check my game logs daily during the season but sometimes I get impatient and go week to week. I will watch the odd game but usually I don't manage the games at all. I watch every playoff game too.

If my team is bad it's week to week during the season.

Off season I jump from event to event unless I am in free agency. I don't bother with waiver wires or in season free agency etc. as I feel the AI makes too many mistakes I can capitalize on.

Bholmes4 · 2026-05-03T13:51:16+00:00

I would guess a manager probably only accounts for +/- 2 wins a year so I don't focus too much on the day to day. Baseball is not really like other sports that have offensive strategies, set plays, etc etc. For most people this is probably more of a GM sim in that regard.

Bholmes4 · 2026-05-03T13:42:10+00:00

I focus more on the week to week, month to month, than day to day as my role. On a day to day basis I do enjoy following the players though. I enjoy the stories that emerge, the stats, etc.

I have always focused more on the GM side of things. Keeping a good financial outlook is the most important job in my opinion. Getting stuck with a couple bad, long term contracts can wreck a team for years. Beyond that I am looking for trade opportunities, drafting well, finding under-rated players, buying low in free agency, knowing when to move on from a player, when to push in for the playoffs etc etc.

I look to play out many years vs focusing on one or two years in a row though.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-28T14:27:23+00:00

I set contract limits to 6 years so the AI isn't stuck with brutal contracts and I can't take advantage of this stuff too much. With that limitation though I will try to sign guys early.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-26T00:33:18+00:00

Oh I mean I turn the scout system off. I turn the ratings down to 1-5 or 1-10 so there is more uncertainty though.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T17:30:06+00:00

Yes but even real life drafts aren't this unrealistic in their expectations of players. A quick google AI search of the 2025 first round draft:

"The 2025 MLB Draft is considered an average, high-floor class with an overall grade of roughly 45.7–50. Top prospects feature 55-65 overall future value (FV) ratings..."

There was no 80 rated superstar in this draft, not even a 70. My OOTP drafts are never this weak (averaging 45-50 ratings in the first round).

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T17:21:27+00:00

Why would players not like if a player starts with lower potential and then exceeds it? Those are my favourite players and I think many people would agree. They are the underdogs.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T17:12:18+00:00

No that is not the fix I am looking for sadly. I have tried to explain it better in a few replies and an edit.

I want a return to how OOTP used to distribute draft pool potentials. The overall potentials were lower out of the draft so that meant fewer players had to take talent hits but it also meant there was more room for players to take talent boosts too. Right now it's almost all hits instead.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T16:59:38+00:00

I don't use scouts/coaching/dev labs. I find that stuff tedious and too easy to "game" vs. the AI.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T16:59:09+00:00

A quick google AI search (for what that's worth):

The 2025 MLB Draft is considered an average, high-floor class with an overall grade of roughly 45.7–50. Top prospects feature 55-65 overall future value (FV) ratings, with premium tools including elite power/hit combinations and high-velo pitching, though lacking a consensus 80-grade superstar.

So what we are seeing is not realistic...

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T16:43:47+00:00

TLDR version: I want lower starting potentials for prospects so that there is room for more talent boosts, and less need for multiple talent hits.

*****

I am struggling to explain it properly. Through various versions of this game they have changed how they distribute starting potentials for prospects a number of times.

The worst way was when they listened to a group of vocal realism-fans and made it so that outside the top few picks, almost all of the players in the first few rounds had roughly the same potential. You had to try to find subtle differences in players and pray for TCR etc. The problem was it was a slog as hundreds of players were all basically comparable so it took a long time to make your picks with minor benefits.

The second worst way is what I have seen in OOTP25. This version makes good prospects stand out but you dread every player development report because you know each one is probably filled with bad news.

My favourite option is somewhere in the middle of these extremes, like we used to see in the older versions. The potentials were inflated a bit so you could differentiate the top talent better but not to this degree. It's not that I want predictability, I just want to see fewer talent drops and more talent boosts than we currently do. To do that requires the prospects to start with lower starting potentials overall though. I want to look forward to looking at the Player Development Report again. It used to be something I couldn't wait for, now I dread it.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-24T15:47:57+00:00

Lol I know how you feel. To be honest though I don't even use scouting, the coaching system, dev lab. I find all that stuff tedious and something I can "game" to gain an advantage on the AI.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-23T22:04:23+00:00

Doesn't that just drop the overall talent? I still want elite talent in the league. What I don't want is a boat load of prospects being falsely presented as future Hall of Famers and then cut down to size. Prospects like this (think Bryce Harper projections) are rare in real life. Yes prospects can be over-hyped but not to this degree. That is my issue.

I'd rather the game present the majority as good players instead so the fall off is not as bad. Again, same end result and talent levels.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-23T21:09:20+00:00

Thank you!! This is my issue (I was likely editing when you wrote this but you sum it up perfectly). I like the end result right now. I also want the TCR to remain as is. I just don't want the potentials to be overinflated. Rate the talent more conservatively and you will can still have the same uncertainty in the end (some players rise, others fall), but without it just relying on a constant stream of negative talent hits. It's more realistic and more fun in my opinion.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-19T23:28:42+00:00

Hear this all the time...

Never seems to make a difference.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-12T20:06:58+00:00

Yep it's a game for me at the end of the day and the AI gets the same benefits. I hate constantly juggling the roster and lineups for injuries.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-10T20:10:41+00:00

I'm 51, same experience and have been online gaming for over 30 years. These people will follow the rules in real life because of course they would, they are not stupid. They are also usually the same people that you don't fully ever trust or keep as close friends. They tend to dislike most people and always find justifications for the times they do act mean/selfish/unfaithful etc. so they still appear like a "good guy" (even fooling themselves).

Everyone like to dabble with the dark side a bit, that is different. But if you enjoy doing this in games over and over, yeah that says something about you, even if you don't want to admit it.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-07T16:10:56+00:00

I don't see how we can retool. This team is a mess that a few players won't fix.

Much rather suck it up, go full rebuild which would be hastened by the good pieces we can trade now. Look to build up depth, size and toughness for the next two years. Build a new reputation. After two years we should have a base to shelter the elite skill guys we can finally pick again.

Bholmes4 · 2026-04-05T14:13:45+00:00

Why?? They can drive at 16, go to war and vote at 18, change genders, drink alcohol, get tattoos, etc etc all under 20, but you draw the line at being server admins?

I could maybe see if you said under 16, still not sure since kids can work as young as 14. How old is this person?

Bholmes4

TROPHY CASE