Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Developer Chat Highlights

The newest Developer Chat is up today on WIS. I never looked at these too much before but they really do have some great info in them. Some of these are really long too. I decided to pull some highligts from today's for you to read and comment on. A lot of questions are on Free Agents, Contracts, and Arbitrations but I wanted to pull the questions most about daily game play and player ratings.
So read and stay competitive until the season starts.

QUESTION - RATINGS BY PLAYER TYPE
Are the ratings numbers generated randomly? I feel like certain categories should be linked, but get the impression that they're not when I see guys with 80 range and 20 speed. (usssalami - Rookie - 12:05 PM)

ANSWER
Ratings are generated based on player type and the ratings that matter are linked. Speed and range are not linked because it is not necessary to have great speed to have great range. Cal Ripken is a great example of this, he wasn't fast but he could position himself well enough to make a lot of plays.

QUESTION - DEFENSIVE PROJECTIONS
Are you satisfied with the rate at which young SS, 2B and CF progress defensively? A draftee at those positions with high projections (90+) typically needs 4+ seasons of minor league ball before they can legitimately field their position adequately at the big league level, and even then they still aren't close to their projections. Those positions in particular are hard to get a young ML caliber defender at, even though in real-life MLB, it’s where a majority of the young premier defenders play. (randallball - Hall of Famer - 12:10 PM)

ANSWER
We are going to be taking a look at a lot of different data for the next update and I think that this is one area in which we will be looking at. Thanks for bringing it up.

QUESTION - DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
Any way you guys can limit the number of crappy DIRT prospects the system generates? What's the point of telling me that a prospects jumped from 30 overall to 40 overall when he's still a career AA player at best just like he was before he became a DIRT. (radek - All*Star - 12:26 PM)

ANSWER
Diamonds in the Rough aren't supposed to be great every time you get one. The majority of the players that will become DITR will see little improvement. However, on random occasions you can get a player who will become a ML caliber player. Keep in mind also that player's can go through the cycle more than once so that crappy guy you are describing might go through the process again and become great.

QUESTION - DRAFT RANKINGS
When ranking players for the amateur draft, if I see ten players (for example, pitchers with control under 30) who I want sent to the very bottom of the list (basically to ensure that I won't draft any of them). Is there a way to select all ten at once by hitting 'ctrl'? This would be much more convenient than having to select each player; drop him to the bottom; find the next player and repeat separately. It's kind of arduous and makes me spend less time altering my draft board. Thanks for listening! (wrecks42 - Prospect - 12:37 PM)

ANSWER
There is going to be a significant overhaul for the amateur draft ranking process that I think everyone will enjoy. It will make ranking your prospects much easier.

QUESTION - PTICHER RANKING IMPORTANCE
Is it more important to have a pitcher that has good splits (lefty vs. righty) or have a higher number on their #1 and #2 pitches? (bperkins - All*Star - 1:11 PM)

ANSWER
In the engine all of the ratings are considered and it is possible that having very high ratings in either category can diminish the penalty for the lower ratings in the other category. Personally, I like to look for pitchers who have higher effectiveness, but that is just my opinion.

QUESTION - CATCHER PITCH CALLING
Does a catcher's pitch calling affect anything other than OAV? Does it affect how many pitches a pitcher throws per inning? (sweetsalve - Hall of Famer - 1:11 PM)

ANSWER
No, it only affects OAV.

QUESTION - PITCHER EFFECTIVENESS
You wrote on here that ou prefer Pitcher's who have higher "effectiveness". What does that mean? What do you consider to be high effectiveness? (05nomar05 - Veteran - 1:49 PM)

ANSWER
Any pitcher whose VsRHB is >= 70 mainly.

QUESTION - PITCH CALLING EFFECT
So if the PC is a modifier of the pitch quality (and not RH/LH effectiveness), will a 60PC catcher and a P1 of 70 have the same effect as a 70PC catcher and a P1 of 60? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 1:55 PM)

ANSWER
It's a modifier on the pitcher's repertoire so all pitches are factored and the modified by the PC rating.

QUESTION - PROSPECT REACHING PROJECTIONS
Can a prospect that was mishandled early in development ever get to his projections if he is put in a good situation or are the progression points he missed gone for good? (kalikgod - Hall of Famer - 2:29 PM)

ANSWER
It's going to take a great deal of work but it's mathematically possible.

QUESTION - PITCHING COACH EFFECT
One of my Ace starters has his 5th pitch rated at 18. In 10 seasons I've had the best pitching coach in the world on couple of occasions but he did not drop that 5th pitch. Better yet, why is he even trying to throw this pitch knowing he has 4 better ones to chose from? (radek - All*Star - 3:24 PM)

ANSWER
A pitching coach makes the decision whether having a pitch helps or hinders a pitcher based on his overall number and grades of pitches. If it makes more sense to keep a pitch (a show-me pitch), then it won't be dropped.

QUESTION - DRAFT TALENT BALANCE
Why is there more major league talent for starting pitchers (mediocre) in the ametuer drafts? There are quite a bit low level ml prospects, but seems to be very few potential major league pitchers. (oddson - Hall of Famer - 3:53 PM)

ANSWER
Each season the distribution is different so one season might be heavy with high caliber 3B/1B while another season it might be a higher distribution of Relievers.

QUESTION - RELIEF PITCHING HOLDS
Can Holds be added as a pitching stat? It would really help with judging bulpens. (gratepool - Pro - 3:54 PM)

ANSWER
It makes sense to include it if it is possible.

QUESTION - HBD FUTURE GOALS
What is the next "major" step for HBD? When will 40 year old pitchers deteriorate at a more life-like pace? (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 3:57 PM)

ANSWER
I'm sure my opinion of the next major step is different than tzents, but I think that the next logical evolution of the game is to incorporate LIVE play. The next logical feature that will be implemented will either by the HOF and/or the Arizona Fall League. The 40 year old pitcher's deteriorating will be looked at in conjunction with the other data changes scheduled for the next update.

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