Sudden massive development

Huckleberry · 08-26-2015, 04:23 PM

I have never seen this before as I'm usually very attached to my draftees and I don't sign many free agents aside from the proven players to fill a hole that occurs due to injury or sudden performance drop (or both). So this guy has a sudden explosion in performance in 2030 at the rookie level:

So my next question was why did he get so few at-bats in that 2030 season (I have a full season rookie league) and why wasn't he promoted, so I checked out his history:

So the Giants organization gave up on him, a late third round pick, after the 2029 season. It looks like they moved him from class A after the 2028 season to AA for 2029 but he was terrible there so they moved him back down to class A and then eventually all the way to rookie ball as a 24 year old where he still stunk in limited play. Completely understandable that they let him walk.

So this guy sits around in the 2029-30 offseason with no job, signs a minor league contract with Las Vegas two months into the next season and is suddenly an incredible hitter. I don't think anybody saw this coming, of course, but the worst part about it is that he completely raked in rookie ball but then Las Vegas never promoted him and then let him walk after the season. I have the overall AI evaluation on and it is set to 25/35/25/15. I understand that his two years ago numbers weren't good but how do you not promote this guy or hang onto him in your system? That's crazy. Here's his development report. The top section is my head scout and the bottom section is the OSA scout's reports.

So now he's destroying the league for me in 2031 as you can see. So my questions are why did Las Vegas let him go, why did none of the other 34 AI teams see his performance and ratings increase (I usually identify and sign my couple of free agents early and then sim from around Christmas until the preseason so I didn't see his ratings spike on January 1st, which prompted me to check his performance, until the day the preseason started), and is this guy going to get popped for a drug suspension? I signed him for $7M+/yr because my scout clearly liked him and he had always had good defensive ratings and one of my owner's goals was to improve defensive efficiency so I figured why not? I put him in CF for spring training and he did well enough to earn the right to open the season in the lineup.

Anyway, I think it would be pretty cool if he did get caught using steroids at some point. Well it would suck for my team but would be pretty neat from a game perspective. This guy's run has led to my team's great start (on pace for by far my best season but clearly a long way to go) despite 4-1/2 of my field starters plus my #3 starting pitcher being out for 6-8 week type injuries already. Then again I'm not sure even steroids could explain this spike. Has anyone seen anything like this before? If I saw this in an online league I would immediately cry foul, that's how insane the sudden improvement is.

NYYANKS98 · 08-26-2015, 04:52 PM

That guy is clearly on steroids and should be investigated immediately.

Huckleberry · 08-26-2015, 04:54 PM

Hahaha, I know it. If I were commissioner his "randomly" selected date for in-season testing would be tomorrow.

Saul Goodman · 08-26-2015, 10:47 PM

That's pretty cool, it's crazy that he puts those sort of numbers up in the majors straight out of rookie ball. Hell that explosion from 2030 onwards in of itself is crazy. Would be interested to see how he goes over a full season have to think he's a shoe in for the ASG and Rookie of the year.

I had a somewhat similar story on an old OOTP save, not quite from rookie ball to the Majors but still.

http://i.imgur.com/OVuIki5.jpg

Average to below average hitter in minors, after acquiring him in a trade (scout was high on him) he hit .202 in AA for me. Same as you, ended up having a pretty good spring training and figured I'll give him a go at CF at the start of the season and the rest is history.

He's ended up being a pretty great all round player so far, but he really excels in the field. Range 92, Error 78 and Arm 68. With outfield ratings of 100 (LF), 92 (CF), 99 (RF).

BBGiovanni · 08-27-2015, 01:22 AM

Austin Riverbats is a cool name, and nice logo

I chalk this phenomenon up to scouts; I've assumed the head scout decides player x is a schlub, whether from a bad year or negative analysis, and cuts him loose. To me it seems kinda realistic, even if the guy that comes back from that to be a monster is a rare gem. A lot of baseball careers end for less, too many catchers at one level, Wally Pipp syndrome, etc.

Actually, I am in the practice of trolling the FA lists for these kind of guys, the ones my scout happens to like. I make a search filter for 18-21 year old players, then sign any 2 star guys that come up to minor league deals. I try to keep rosters at all levels pruned of dead wood, then use these guys to flesh out the rosters, ditching the hopeless dude from Slobbovia that the international scout picked up on.

I've never found someone like this dude, though! Nicely done.

ttaka808 · 08-27-2015, 02:51 AM

This former 28th Round (out of 30) Left-Handed Catcher was complete trash, until he started taking steroids

. Now he contends for the MVP every year.

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08-26-2015, 04:23 PM	#1
Huckleberry All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 578	Sudden massive development I have never seen this before as I'm usually very attached to my draftees and I don't sign many free agents aside from the proven players to fill a hole that occurs due to injury or sudden performance drop (or both). So this guy has a sudden explosion in performance in 2030 at the rookie level: So my next question was why did he get so few at-bats in that 2030 season (I have a full season rookie league) and why wasn't he promoted, so I checked out his history: So the Giants organization gave up on him, a late third round pick, after the 2029 season. It looks like they moved him from class A after the 2028 season to AA for 2029 but he was terrible there so they moved him back down to class A and then eventually all the way to rookie ball as a 24 year old where he still stunk in limited play. Completely understandable that they let him walk. So this guy sits around in the 2029-30 offseason with no job, signs a minor league contract with Las Vegas two months into the next season and is suddenly an incredible hitter. I don't think anybody saw this coming, of course, but the worst part about it is that he completely raked in rookie ball but then Las Vegas never promoted him and then let him walk after the season. I have the overall AI evaluation on and it is set to 25/35/25/15. I understand that his two years ago numbers weren't good but how do you not promote this guy or hang onto him in your system? That's crazy. Here's his development report. The top section is my head scout and the bottom section is the OSA scout's reports. So now he's destroying the league for me in 2031 as you can see. So my questions are why did Las Vegas let him go, why did none of the other 34 AI teams see his performance and ratings increase (I usually identify and sign my couple of free agents early and then sim from around Christmas until the preseason so I didn't see his ratings spike on January 1st, which prompted me to check his performance, until the day the preseason started), and is this guy going to get popped for a drug suspension? I signed him for $7M+/yr because my scout clearly liked him and he had always had good defensive ratings and one of my owner's goals was to improve defensive efficiency so I figured why not? I put him in CF for spring training and he did well enough to earn the right to open the season in the lineup. Anyway, I think it would be pretty cool if he did get caught using steroids at some point. Well it would suck for my team but would be pretty neat from a game perspective. This guy's run has led to my team's great start (on pace for by far my best season but clearly a long way to go) despite 4-1/2 of my field starters plus my #3 starting pitcher being out for 6-8 week type injuries already. Then again I'm not sure even steroids could explain this spike. Has anyone seen anything like this before? If I saw this in an online league I would immediately cry foul, that's how insane the sudden improvement is.

08-26-2015, 04:52 PM	#2
NYYANKS98 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 128	That guy is clearly on steroids and should be investigated immediately. Last edited by NYYANKS98; 08-26-2015 at 04:59 PM.

08-26-2015, 04:54 PM	#3
Huckleberry All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 578	Hahaha, I know it. If I were commissioner his "randomly" selected date for in-season testing would be tomorrow.

08-26-2015, 10:47 PM	#4
Saul Goodman Minors (Double A) Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 125	That's pretty cool, it's crazy that he puts those sort of numbers up in the majors straight out of rookie ball. Hell that explosion from 2030 onwards in of itself is crazy. Would be interested to see how he goes over a full season have to think he's a shoe in for the ASG and Rookie of the year. I had a somewhat similar story on an old OOTP save, not quite from rookie ball to the Majors but still. http://i.imgur.com/OVuIki5.jpg Average to below average hitter in minors, after acquiring him in a trade (scout was high on him) he hit .202 in AA for me. Same as you, ended up having a pretty good spring training and figured I'll give him a go at CF at the start of the season and the rest is history. He's ended up being a pretty great all round player so far, but he really excels in the field. Range 92, Error 78 and Arm 68. With outfield ratings of 100 (LF), 92 (CF), 99 (RF).

08-27-2015, 01:22 AM	#5
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,910	Austin Riverbats is a cool name, and nice logo I chalk this phenomenon up to scouts; I've assumed the head scout decides player x is a schlub, whether from a bad year or negative analysis, and cuts him loose. To me it seems kinda realistic, even if the guy that comes back from that to be a monster is a rare gem. A lot of baseball careers end for less, too many catchers at one level, Wally Pipp syndrome, etc. Actually, I am in the practice of trolling the FA lists for these kind of guys, the ones my scout happens to like. I make a search filter for 18-21 year old players, then sign any 2 star guys that come up to minor league deals. I try to keep rosters at all levels pruned of dead wood, then use these guys to flesh out the rosters, ditching the hopeless dude from Slobbovia that the international scout picked up on. I've never found someone like this dude, though! Nicely done.

08-27-2015, 02:51 AM	#6
ttaka808 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 278	This former 28th Round (out of 30) Left-Handed Catcher was complete trash, until he started taking steroids . Now he contends for the MVP every year.