Thursday, April 5, 2012

How to maintain a minor league pitching staff

One big discussion over the last several seasons has been minor league pitching. There has been repeat offenders (no names, no blame) since the inception of MiLB.

Why is this such an important issue? Well, for starters it inflates the statistics for minor league hitters. It's very hard to gauge talent when all of your AAA hitters carry a .920 OPS despite not having any ratings out of the 50's. It's also simply not fair to those that do take every facet of the game seriously. Your minors should be run like your majors...with seriousness.

Now, we all know that not everyone sees the game of HBD in that way. The minor leagues are either a stepping stone or a non-factor. That ratings are the only thing that matters, so who cares if non-talented hitters look like Matt Kemp and Prince Fielder?

I understand both schools of thought. But regardless, the world has made a decision. Keep your minor league pitchers from going 0(0). Otherwise known as "arm falling off disease". So, what's the remedy???
  • Approach minor league staffs like major league staffs. Who cares if the pitcher is absolute crap? As long as he can eat innings and stay out of that 0(0) zone you won't catch any flack.
  • Starters should have 20-30 CURRENT durability, 70-90 health, and Stamina at least over 65. Have at least 5 starters, or sometimes 6.
  • Carry two or three long relievers. Maybe not quite as durable, healthy, or good stamina but serviceable. (I'm not a fan of mop up guys, but it can't hurt)
  • Carry four to five relievers.
  • And here is the biggest trick...put several pitchers on your INACTIVE list for each team.
  • Once all that is done go into the "management console" check "manage pitching staff" for all your minor leagues (don't check majors!) as well as "manage disabled list". 
  • If you really want the most from your entire minor league team, and don't care that much about it, click "Recs" for each minor league team to ensure the best are being put in position.
If you follow those easy steps you will NEVER have a poor minor league pitching staff. You can check on it once a week just to be sure, but I've never had a problem with 0(0) pitchers unless I play a 19 inning game and everyone gets used.

Note: You can also pick up pitchers from the free agent list and choose "minors" and "pitchers". You can grab AAA, AA type pitchers from here for about $54k. Also, "gm office" > "contracts" > "tryout camp". This is a good place for A ball/rookie league players.

Hope this helps. If you have any feedback or want something added, just Trade Chat me.

Season 19 Preview - AL West



VL and the Royals finally won the division last year. Something he had never done under that ownership. Super prospects George Stovall and Max Ordaz got the call this year to join the Royals. Omaha needs Howie Donovan, Lawrence Lee, and Barney Anderson to finally start earning their keep on the offensive side of the ball. The team should have scored many more runs last year (finished 18th with 726 runs). The young guns will help a little.
The pitching staff was very good at not allowing runs last year, despite having one of the worst FIPs. The cure? Young pitchers that don’t allow homeruns, strikeout more hitters, and don’t allow free passes. Keep everything else and this team could repeat.


AVP’s guys in Boise have been the model of consistency. Through a meticulous seven year rebuild, the team has only been below 79 wins twice (and never below 67), and never had a last place finish. The Hawks are flying high with 7 of their 9 offensive starters under the age of 27. AVP continues to tinker a little here and there with the team to find the right chemistry, but guys like Okajima have been solid. Next up is Terrell Wood in his 2nd season.
The pitching staff was kind of tossed together with all 5 starters coming in via free agency on the cheap. This might not be the year it all comes together…but the rest of the AL West better beware. And once they have that conquered, it’s on to the rest of the AL.


The Giants continue to have a solid offense led by Zip Reed and Gang. Yokers biggest issue last year was allowing runs. They had the 31st ranked in runs allowed, and 29th in FIP. All of this despite a $93 million pay roll.


40-dog (is that pronounced 40….dog!)? and his Volcanoes tried to stop the bleeding that their 30th ranked runs allowed, and last ranked FIP pitching staff started last year. Unfortunately, he plays in a mediocre but competitive division. Which makes it even harder. It’s time to pull off a complete rebuild and take it nice and slow.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Season 19 Preview - NL West



CB’s Sky Sox have always been a veteran team, and this one is no different. Omar Ramirez and Raymond Higgens to free agency. Higgens never really produced up to expectations. In place comes another group of vets: Santiago Diaz (31), Phillip Killebrew (39), Stevie Logan (36), Wascar Nunez (29), Henry McFeely (36), and Hal Nen (29).
To break down those moves…Diaz is a fill in that hasn’t produced in the past. Killebrew was a good pick up for a Sub B. Logan is an interesting choice for closer, but looks solid. Nunez was given the starting job at 3b despite not being solid defensively. Henry McFeely was the best pick up. He still has some gas in the tank. The Springs should rebound and head back to the playoffs.


Salt Lake changed ownership again (welcome to the league gator), and this time they packed up the organization to flee north. Helena is just as scenic, and I hear it has a decent school system. They only made one signing, Vic Martinez, to help in the bullpen. Kenta Chong, Julio Olivo, and Butch Terry have all come up to fill spots for injured Brewers.
Their amazing run to the NLCS was truly inspiring. They still have a terrific offense. Their FIP correlates very well with the type of pitchers they have. The only thing they need is to find players that hit just as good, but play better defense.


VandyDave and his Canadians  offense that finished 23rd seemed to take a step forward by picking up Bruce Buckley from San Antonio. He hasn’t produced in the past, but maybe a change of scenery will help. Rule five selection Brett Newfield was a great pick up. Markus Taft is finally in the Show along with lesser prospect Ewell Cromer. Other call ups are on their way. Key/Maxwell/Bragg on offense and Blasco for SP later this season.  The team thinks .500 is a reasonable expectation and who am I to argue? Youth usually doesn’t come together. But with Vets in the mix you never know.


Tyler’s first order of business this off season was to address the problems that he could, without screwing up his rebuilding. He has a young team, but is still saddled with non-productive players playing out existing contracts. Case in point Yeico Guzman, Ernie Presley, Einar Ortega, and Don Duran. But young players like Kenneth Serrano, and Achilles George are the future of the franchise. Rick McClain and Josh Kotsay are fairly productive and are the kind of complementary players the 51’s should be focused on. Probably overpaid a little for Tomas Maduro, but a closer is a closer.

Getting the most value in a trade

Brianj's first trade has generated a lot of comments on the chat board. Most HBD veterans would recommend that a "noob" not make any trades for at least the first season, especially if their advanced scouting budget is below 14. I tend to agree in most cases.

Regardless of the number of seasons you have played, getting the most bang for your buck in a trade is what turns a contender into a champion, or can turn a rebuild project into a perennial powerhouse.

In my opinion, the two best times to trade a player are:
1. During Free Agency bidding
2. Halfway through the season

If you have a highly coveted starting pitcher, for example, you can command multiple top notch prospects during the FA period. There are always multiple teams bidding on the top FA pitching talent. Always. There are a few winners, and the rest are losers. Many teams budget millions in cap space hoping to land the top FA pitchers. This is an opportune time to offload a long expensive contract and pick up future quality ML talent. Many teams think they are just one player away from making a run at the World Series. Optimism is the highest during the FA period. Strike while the iron is hot.

A lot of owners might think the trade deadline is the best time to get the most value. That is the case in "real" baseball, but not necessarily the case in HBD. There are usually only a few buyers at the deadline, and if the guy you are trying to trade is only a half season rental, very few players are willing to part with top prospect talent. However, right before the All Star break, many teams who think they can make a run will come to the table with solid prospects to offer. It's a great time to move an overachieving player who will eventually regress to the mean.

Season 19 Preview - AL South



Cyclone put together a pretty good team last year and earned a 3 seed in the AL. After winning their first series, they got dropped by KC in the Divisional Series. On offense, the team made very few changes and will continue to produce at a very high level. On the pitching side, Larry Sherman was the only pick up.
The Braves have a window at this point to win their next championship. Can they get number three this year? They have a very good chance.



Mitchdog’s rebuild is nearly complete. The starting rotation is suddenly very solid and ready to take a big step forward. Snagging Norm Gibson was a good move, and Chad Jordan should help as well. Some of the younger sluggers are now a year older and should contribute more. They might, and this is a big maybe, catch Richmond. In the long run they are built solid. The only concern is defense. For all the pitching, it only matters so much if you don’t have a defense.


CC had a tough off season for with the Knights. Their #14 ranked offense lost Rincoln, Singleton, and Cueto in the off-season. The pitching staff remains largely unchained, while the defense is still weak.


Nothing in the cupboard as far as pitching for mytitan and the Suns. They lost their best offensive weapon,  Alex Castillo, who is gone for most of the year. Other than that, Jacksonville remains largely unchanged. Which isn’t a good thing.

Season 19 Preview - NL South



Paul’s Travelers were 4th in the league in scoring, and 5th in the league in runs allowed. Their FIP was 7th, while they maintained the 6th highest payroll. So, the big question is…how could they lose in the divisional round. Answer: Memphis. Even though they have the best season ever, it doesn’t mean anything until they beat the RedBirds.
The loss of Larry Sherman is almost crippling. He ended up in Richmond and took his 1.20 WHIP with him. Anthony Koskie is the intended replacement, but he just isn’t up to quality. Parkinson was a nice pick up for the bullpen and should eat up a lot of innings. Overall they won’t have a top 10 pitching staff this year, nor will they have as good a FIP.
The offense remains very strong, but the addition of Fausto Leon from Fargo helps the defense more than the offense. A top ten finish in offense can be expected once again.


The defending champs made a spectacular run from the end of the season and into the playoffs. Their number one goal was to repeat, and knowing that the division was going to get better they had to make moves in the off season. One trade fell through, and the top four free agent targets all chose to go somewhere else. So, that leaves the RedBirds with a tremendous defense and good pitching (although they still struggle with FIP). Scott Franco moved on to Norfolk. Hernandez was a desperation pick up to play CF, and Reed Davis is a roller coaster type player in LF. Losing Mark Maurer really hurt the rotation and he will miss the season. They still have Gil Tunkel (chugging along at 40 years old), Cristobal Lima, and Derrick Baptist. But the rotation just isn’t top tier any longer. The Dude was forced to call up rookies Miguel Mercedes, and Otis Tunkel (Gil’s son???) well before their times. I don’t see Memphis running away with the division, and frankly struggling to get into the playoffs this year.


The rebuild is over for the Z’s and metsny. It’s game time in the Big Easy, and in order to survive in the toughest division in baseball they are coming on strong. The pitching staff has three potential all-stars, and two pitchers that might struggle. The defense is a bit weak, but the offense could lead the league in most major categories. New Orleans is my pick to win the NL this year.


Dodgersgale and the Impossible-Missions had a choice coming in to the season. Compete with Memphis, Nawlins, and the Rock or rebuild. Since too many big contracts still existed on the payroll the only choice was to throw all in. The team got Hector Garces back (they were cruising until he got hurt), dumped Bruce Buckley (couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat), and signed premier free agent Raymond Higgens. If the team can live up to their offensive potential, they might actually score more than 700 runs. The starting rotation is decent, anchored by Albert Plata, but not top tier. The bullpen is a mash unit and should cost the team some games.