International Scouting
 

So here is the issue I'm having, and I'm hoping someone can shed some light on it. I know this has been touched upon in previous versions, but I need an explanation.

So my scout is (presumably) traveling the world looking for talent. Every once in a while, he'll shoot me an email, saying he discovered "potential talent". "I found this 16 year-old kid named Erik Estrada who seems to have good skills and may pan out!"

He signs maybe 8-10 young kids each year, and each and every year, when I look at the kids, they are showing a half-star Overall (understandable) and a half-star potential (confusing).

How good can these kids be if they have NO POTENTIAL? It seems to me like my scout is just going into a low-class neighborhood in Argentina and putting up a sign that reads: "ANYBODY WANT TO PLAY BALL IN AMERICA? SIGN HERE."

I understand people may not pan out, but what I don't get is how he signs a kid that he knows is a half-star potential. Why do I need a scout to find kids who have NO POTENTIAL? Anybody can do that. He must think that they have SOME potential, why else would he sign them?

I believe what he finds are what we would see in real life the lower tier international signings, most filler players every now and then a gem. Since the international amateur FA is I believe to simulate the top 30. By having those players found it helps fill your dsl league team and complex.

Yea, those findings are mostly to simulate all of the low-key international signings teams make out of the baseball academies, etc. Sometimes you will find a gem in there, but they are mostly going to be filler guys if they aren't well-known enough to be seeking signing bonuses.

It is the same reason that you still go ahead and make your 30th round draft pick.

there's some key differences in the verbage you read in the emails...

when you see a ~1/2 scale potential or higher (~29/80 or so with larger reso scale is my guess for threshold), go re-read that email and notice the difference... there is/was a distinct change in words used to describe any of the ones they actualyl thought well of.. otherwise they are mostly 0-.5 star or ~20or21 out of 80. so 1stars may have a different verbage in email or it helps you see beyond a 5star scale etc

most will be utter junk... if oyu ever have to choose to release a scouting discovery vs a july 2nd amateur signing, always release the scouting discovery if pressed for space in international complex.

the can be good filler in Rookie and shor a, but by A-ball they start to show their ceiling... some may be okay in a-ball, but not above that.

i've recenlty shut that off and increase # of july 2nd playrs... resutls in fewer players, but better quality (ie 12*30 - 360players,... on bump up of july 2nd doesn't create ~360 more players)

so, if it's integral to filling your mil system, may not be a good choice in that context... if plenty of mil players in general, it's a viable choice.

I think I will have to go this route, as I don't need any filler playera. There are literally hundreds of players with no potential on my FA list, so I don't need to bring over any more mouths to feed. Unles there is a way to tell my scout to only sign players he thinks are really good, I guess the only other option is to shut off that option.

I just use it as a way to keep my lower farm teams full of players. Every so often, my scout finds a gem, but it does not occur even 1 in 10 years.

plus, less email interruptions.

I remember once (I think it was OOTP 16, might have been 15) my scout discovered a player who was a 70/80 on the potential scale. That's the highest I've ever seen and it was only one time and I've been playing many, many seasons since OOTP 12.

Just in my Red Sox save so for this year's game I've seen other teams discover 50/80 guys. So most, but not all of them, are garbage.

it definitely happens.. 1/decade or so you'll get someone really good... maybe 1/20 years etc. seen some 76-80 / 80 guys for sure.

that's just from 1 team's perspective.. if 30 get 1/decade, there's at elast a few studs in your league at all times nearly guaranteed that come from discoveries. you just have to dump 99% of them. i'm lazy like that... plus i reduce int'l complex size to 30, so they don't wallow in their till "20" they are pumped out more quicly by need. not having 12 discoveries a year per team of mostly worse players clogging the complex has a benefit too.

there's good reasons either way.. match it to personal preference.. not intending to "cheerlead" one over the other when i give my opinion.