[NoOne]

settings -- keep it simple (stupid)... kiss principle.. follow it at least initially, and then anytime you try to implement something sophisticated or different.

deviate when you understand things better all you want. anytime you try something new, maybe test it out on a throw-away league - can use a restored backup to clone existing league if necessary.

one suggestion -- use 100% accuracy for a season or 3. learn what the ratings mean before clouding the picture. easy to think something only to be fooled by a bad scouting value.. then it takes longer to learn you were wrong initially, etc etc...

find threads that discuss League totals and Modifers in depth. understand it callibrates your league. in some contexts you may need to 'autocalculate modifiers' occasionally. more often you're better off just adjusting "1" and going from there. (e.g. you want 10% more home runs, you add 10% to the LTM for HR)

general reasons: change in historic era, transitioning from real 2018 players to fictionalyl generated players for draft, transition from 'seed' league players to fictioanlyl created players for draft.. etc... get the idea?

something like league expansion would qualify too, but there's reasons not to with expansion too.. maybe you want to see if it dilutes or exagerrates things wihtout changing the "physics" of the game. (no physics engine here, lol, mean that loosely)

change in player/ratings distribution, you likely want to autocalculate the modifiers, unless the resulting change is how you want to cause a shift in the league stats etc... (ie on purpose).

stats do fluctuate with an unchangingn set of modifiers, now worries... even so you don't want to click this autocalculate button every year... that would cause extrememly flet results... in the reasons i gave above, after a 'transition' you don't have to worry anymore either...

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i'd say the easiest way to start is with real players 2018 or simple historical without much worry about setup/setitngs, but it's splitting hairs at best.

if you don't get hung up on 'names', the familiarity with players will allow you to see through any scouting inaccuracies and similar contexts.

you could find all sorts of draft guides in forums... it's similar to real life.

good SP is basically gone in a 30T league by end of round 2-5 depending on depth and luck. the most promising talent will be gone within 10-20 picks. more likely TCR-related if HoF quality after that, but on occasion 30 teams can scout 1 player poorly... that's not as common obviously.

if you don't pick 1-5, don't expect to find a mike trout or max sherzer. best talent available is always the best way to draft in baseball. draft what you can, fill the rest with FA. never draft on need... unless all choices are equivalent.

tcr - talent change randomness. setting - game/global settings? players/face gen? thereabouts. (believe it is the latter)

batters are fairly straightforward as far as expected production and the ratings you see. i would look at them as "2" differetn types... obp qualities vs those with slugging qualities. sluggers, like sp, are off the board far earlier and with greater demand.


pitching is complicated. focus on quality of individual pitches, not overall stuff. sometimes seemingly similar quality player will have drastically different hr/9, k/9, bb/9 etc... but there is a reason even if difficult to root out.

movement -- as long as low hr/9 or opponents slugging against et al., it's low enough... i place a higher priority on movement for an RP than an SP, but still important to both. i think 3 pitches help or something in that dynamic that is different between sp and rp roles in ootp.

conlrol -- some minimum for either role... again some differences. i'm willing to sacrifice a bit more control for an RP than an SP. you can get away with a slightly sub-half scale control for an inning or two, but over 6-7 and the inevitable degrading of it due to fatigue is a different matter.

*a ~1/2 scale control SP is capable of multiple cy youngs, don't get me wrong, but it would be a very special player -- elite stuff/move/gb% etc. to overcome a higher bb/9.

due to numerous factors involved, you may see varying bb/9 relative to control... other things contribute, that's why. so, try to see what is different anytime that deviates from expectation -- pitches throw, quality of each, gb% etc etc... find a trend? avoid it or seek it out as appropriate.

understanding when you can dip a bit lower in this rating or that for apitcher can help you dig up gems in the draft that others cannot see even with 100% scouting accuracy.

overall/potential -- useful for sorting only, don't put much weight into it during draft... focus on each individual ratings and what it provides (more complicated for pitching. if you think a 21/80 sp is better than a 40/80sp, i'd suggest going with the "21".

ugh more pitching tidbit... any 20 and under is more likely to gain velocity after you draft them.. .obviously 18 more often than 20 will gain velocity too (more time, younger). so, stuff *can* change dramatically compared to what you see. high risk, high reward context.

once i can't see any SP that i like, i filter <21 and look for good movement and control... and if they get a velo bump could be great stuff too. due to rish, i obviously search for these guys after i can't find what i know to be a better bet. (leaving that vague on purpose -- each to their own without data mining as proof).
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