Power Pros Forum

April 10-15, 2018

The Astros were 4-2 this week, earning them a #11 spot in the way-too-early Power Rankings. Their score of 121.0 was tied with three other teams, so technically they were tied for 9th. In league news, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy tossed a no-hitter against the Angels on the 15th. He walked two and struck out seven, throwing 105 pitches in the 10-0 Baltimore victory.

4/10: BOS 4, HOU 5 (14): Nolan Fontana's pinch-hit, 2-run homer in the 7th was canceled out by Aroldis Chapman's blown save in the 9th, however Brock Holt got the game-winning sac fly against his former team.
4/11: BOS 1, HOU 0: Christian Vazquez's sac fly in the 2nd scored the only run. Anthony Ranaudo pitched eight two-hit innings.
4/12: BOS 3, HOU 6: Dan Vogelbach went beast mode, hitting a RBI double, two-run homer, and drawing two walks. Hunter Renfroe also had 2 RBI.
4/13: SEA 1, HOU 4: Two hits each from Vogelbach, Renfroe and Nick Gordon as well as a two-run home run by Robbie Grossman helped Houston win this one.
4/14: SEA 8, HOU 9: Pablo Sandoval had 4 hits and 4 RBI, but Gordon and Grossman countered to combine for seven hits. Brandon McCarthy went 4.2 innings allowing 6 runs.
4/15: SEA 1, HOU 7: Adam Eaton had 3 hits and 3 RBI, and Houston couldn't counter. Danny Hultzen pitched a complete game.

Coming up, the Astros will finish the four-game set with Seattle, then travel to play the Rays and Angels. Matt Wisler will make his debut on the 19th against Tampa Bay, replacing McCarthy, as the two will alternate for the time being.

gobackgobackgobackgobackgobackgobackgobackgoback

(Translation: Go back to the old style.)

I'll consider it but not really

April 16-April 22, 2018

Houston was 2-5 this week, dropping them to 18th in the Power Rankings with a 79.1 score. Around the league there were plenty of injuries: Dodgers RHP Stephen Fife (torn labrum, 4-5 months), Diamondbacks SS Chris Owings (torn ankle ligaments, 5 months), Royals LHP Chris Hernandez (torn UCL, 12-13 months), Rays LF Starling Marte (ruptured finger tendon, 3-4 months), and Brewers SS Zack Cozart (torn back muscle, 4 months). In addition, Pirates SS Brandon Crawford and Reds RHP John Stilson each got 5-game suspensions.

4/16: SEA 1, HOU 7: Taijuan Walker pitched well and their 6-9 hitters combined for seven hits and five RBI. What more can be said?
4/17: HOU 1, TB 2: Nicholas Gordon was 3 for 3, but Wil Myers’ two-run homer was apparently too much to overcome. Oh, and Gordon also stole two bases.
4/18: HOU 6, TB 1: At last! What happens when Anthony Rizzo bats against inexperienced pitching is he gets 3 hits and 2 home runs.
4/19: HOU 1, TB 6: Seven players had multi-hit games (3 Astros, 4 Rays) - we just spread ours out too much. Also, Matt Wisler pitched seven innings allowing six runs. Back to McCarthy it is.
4/20: HOU 6, LAA 4: Rizzo had a two-double, 3 RBI game. Coincidentally, Tyler Skaggs’s ERA rose to 4.20 after the game. Blaze it.
4/21: HOU 6, LAA 7: Chris Sale sucks and I regret giving him $$$. Gaby Sanchez and Will Middlebrooks combined for 5 hits and 4 RBI.
4/22: HOU 7, LAA 8: Tucker Barnhart, the catcher, batted leadoff because YOLO? Also, Mike Trout (4-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) is very, very, very good.

We signed Australian first baseman Jack Barrie, 23, to a minor-league contract. He has a 1.000 OBP (one walk) so far. Also, Corpus Christi right-hander Kohl Stewart has an inflamed shoulder and will miss two or three months.

Coming up, Houston has an off day Monday, followed by three at home against the Tigers and three on the road in Oakland.

April 23-April 29, 2018

The Astros were 2-4 this week, dropping them all the way down to 27th place in the Power Rankings, with a score of 68.8. Three major injuries came this month, all to right-handed pitchers: The Yankees lost Erik Goeddel for 5 months with an inflamed shoulder, Atlanta's Joakim Soria is out 7 months with a torn labrum, and Cleveland's Rob Carr will miss 3 months with biceps tendonitis.

4/23: OFF DAY! We can't lose on an off day, right?
4/24: DET 2, HOU 3 (12): Lewis Brinson hit the walk-off homer. Also, Riley Ferrell pitched 4 innings of relief, allowing 1 run and striking out 6.
4/25: DET 6, HOU 2: A three-run first inning and seven one-run innings by Casey Crosby led the Tigers to the victory.
4/26: DET 7, HOU 12: Dan Vogelbach hit a three-run home run and a grand slam!
4/27: HOU 1, OAK 2: Excellent pitching on both sides, but Jake Godfrey outdueled Chris Sale for this win.
4/28: HOU 6, OAK 9: An 8-run inning will usually do a team in. It did. Anthony Rizzo was 3 for 4 with a homer and 3 RBI though.
4/29: HOU 2, OAK 3: Dan Vogelbach homered. So did Addison Russell. Noah Syndergaard's worst start of the year...6 innings, 3 runs, 7 strikeouts.

Nolan Fontana (.263/.364/.526) will replace Scooter Gennett (.185/.270/.246) at second base. Nicholas Gordon will slide up to the leadoff spot, with Fontana batting 6th. Moving up to 5th will be right fielder Nick Williams (.474/.545/.789), who will replace Hunter Renfroe (.167/.215/.267) in the lineup. Also, Matt Wisler and Brandon McCarthy will each make one start this week - Wisler tomorrow and McCarthy on Saturday.

April 2018

Standings/League Leaders
Pitching Stats
Batting Stats

So, our Astros aren't quite playing up to standard. Strasburg, Corbin and Sale have struggled (Strasburg's FIP tho), but Syndergaard's been great. Out of the bullpen, Crow and Rosscup have really been the only consistently effective relievers. And of course, neither McCarthy or Wisler has been good at all.
Offensively, as expected, the infield's been good, especially if you count DH Dan Vogelbach, a natural first baseman who's second on the team with a .321 average and first with 6 doubles and 5 homers. His 15 RBI are second, and 16 runs are first as well. Anthony Rizzo isn't on pace to repeat as MVP contender, but he has been solid, and shortstop Nicholas Gordon has been stellar, hitting a team-leading .354 with 5 doubles (2nd) and 5 stolen bases (team lead, 2nd in AL). Catcher has been a hole on offense, though the defense there has been excellent. In the outfield, Lewis Brinson is disappointing defensively with a -1.6 Zone Rating, though he does have 3 outfield assists. The team is hoping that the installment of Nolan Fontana and Nick Williams in the lineup will help recharge this group for the month of May.

Minor Leagues

AAA: Oklahoma City RedHawks (11-14, 3 GB, 2nd): Starting pitching's been awful (5.50 starter ERA), but Mike Foltynewicz (3 HLD, 3.24 ERA, 0.80 FIP) and Corey Knebel (5 HLD, 0.82 ERA, 1.56 FIP) are pitching like they want to be called up. Stefan Welch (.318), Russell Wilson (.284, 3 HR, 5 SB), and Drew Stubbs (.286, 2 HR, 11 SB) are all playing well offensively, and are the most likely to be recalled in the event of an injury.
AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (9-8, 1st): Tyler Kolek (4-0, 0.94 ERA, 1.67 FIP) has been amazing. Jimmy Stephens (3-1, 1.66, 2.18) has also been great in the rotation. Infielder Juremi Profar (.328) and outfielder Brad Zimmer (.309) have led a contact-heavy approach, and Brady Acton has stolen 6 bases despite just a .250 OBP.
A: Quad Cities River Bandits (11-13, 4 GB, 4th): No expectations here. The bullpen's been excellent though, with Wei-Chung Wang (2 SV, 5 HLD, 0.43 ERA, 0.91 FIP) and Jorge Anador (5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.91 FIP) leading the charge. Third baseman Garrett Weber is raking, with a .384 batting average, as well as 8 doubles and 3 home runs.

Transactions:

Tyler Kolek and Jimmy Stephens were called up to AAA, with Jake Buchanan (2-1, 6.39) and Josh Hader (1-4, 9.89) dispatched to AA to take their rotation spots. Garrett Weber was called up to AA as a first baseman, and Gunner McNeill was sent down to A to get regular playing time and work on some issues (.191, 0 HR).

It's been like 3 days, chill

Also why does no one but me like the new style?

okay, so, question:

is OOTP like a managerial mode or do you actually play the games?

You can't play the games. You can either skip right over them and check the box score if you want, or you can actually go in and watch the game(the way this is done reminds me of SimYard), or you can actually manage the game(still in a SimYard-looking screen). You can tell the batter to swing away or don't swing or bunt or other stuff, or you can just sim right through and have the computer do all of that, which is what I do. Pitching is the same way, with a bunch of options too.

OOTP is more focused on the process of building the team, setting your lineups, and doing stuff like that instead of actually playing the games. The way you "play" the games reminds me of SimYard, it's a similar screen and you just read the commentator monologue to know what's going on. There aren't a ton of videos of gameplay on YouTube, but I think there's a couple if you're still curious.

Yep.

I usually just sim weekly, with some exceptions:

A) In the playoffs, I manage every game (not watch)
B) In a week where both McCarthy and Wisler have to pitch, I sim the first game or two, switch them out in the rotation, then sim the rest of the week
C) If there's a big injury or a trade gets proposed to me, the sim stops to tell me this, so I take care of that before advancing

Ight coo, I can dig it

Thanks guys

May 2018

Standings/League Leaders
Pitching Stats
Batting Stats

Hey, first place! Our big transaction this month dumped a ton of salary on the White Sox as we sent pitchers Chris Sale (1-6, 5.51), Riley Ferrell (2-1, 6.75) and Aroldis Chapman (5-7 SV, 6.30 ERA) as well as infielder Cody Asche (4-20, 2 RBI) in exchange for Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu and four prospects: 3B Felix Osorio (4*), SP Carson Fulmer (1.5*), 3B Trae Arbet (1.5*), and RP Nelson Acosta (1.5*). Strasburg and Rizzo have been great, and while they don't look like legitimate Cy Young or MVP candidates, they are playing well enough to keep this team floating (albeit, with a half-game lead). Shortstop Nicholas Gordon (.350/.402/.453, 2 HR, 6 SB) went down in mid-May with a broken hamate bone in his wrist, but Scooter Gennett has picked up the slack there after being benched mid-April in favor of Nolan Fontana at second base. Offensively, the 'Stros have been tremendous thus far, as power (9th in AL in home runs) is their only "weakness" and they lead the AL in steals. Pitching-wise though, outside of strikeouts (3rd) and walks allowed (2nd), the Astros are struggling big-time as they are in the bottom 6 in every other category.

Minor Leagues

AAA: Oklahoma City RedHawks (27-28, 5 GB, 2nd) - Jose Cisnero has been insane out of his setup role with a 1.10 ERA and 5 holds, and outfielder Drew Stubbs (.301/.386/.452, 4 HR, 12 SB) and catcher Reese McGuire (.263/4/18, +9.3 ZR, 52% CS) have been great, but the rest of the team has been mediocre. Carlos Rodon (6-3, 3.41) has been effective as well.

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (23-23, 5 GB, 2nd) - This is the best pitching team in the league and don't let anyone tell you different - they lead in 8 of 11 categories and are in the top-3 in all eleven...Jed Bradley (1-3 despite a 2.28 ERA) has led the rotation and Keone Kela (4 SV, 2.55 ERA) has stepped in nicely for Nick Howard (8 SV, 6.19 ERA) in the closer's role. Justin Trapp has been good offensively with 9 homers and 10 steals to go with a .294 OBP, but his poor defense (-3.1 ZR) has helped sink the team to second place.

A: Quad Cities River Bandits (24-30, 9 GB, 6th) - They hold the best bullpen ERA (2.79) in the league, but the relievers are getting no help from an awful starting rotation (with the exception of Josh Sborz, who is 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA) and equally putrid offense. The bullpen is led by closer Jorge Anador (11-11 SV, 1.64 ERA), setup man Colby Wyatt (5 HLD, 1.10 ERA), and veteran middle reliever Andrew Robinson (3 HLD, 1.19 ERA).

June 2018

Standings & League Leaders
Batting Stats
Pitching Stats

lolrangers

Our first round pick this year was closer Max Webb (0.5/3.5), but after him there doesn’t seem to be much more than a bunch of organizational depth. Webb signed with a $4 million bonus, as did 8 of the other 9 Astros picks. After signing a minor-league deal on the 12th, Jose Altuve hit .333/.378/.500 in 16 AAA games, and was promoted on the 29th, which was a big day for Houston. They traded infielder Brock Holt to the Yankees for outfielder Preston Tucker and designated struggling veteran Brandon McCarthy for assignment. Oh and Strasburg, Rizzo and Fontana are the best players in the world

Minor Leagues

AAA: Oklahoma City RedHawks (40-43, 10 GB, 3rd) - Not much to say here. There are several players that could be called up at any time, but none really stand out.

AA: Corpus Christi Hooks (40-34, 8 GB, 2nd) - Jed Bradley (5-5, 1.93) has been an absolute stud, and was promoted to AAA. Relievers Carter Capps (1.96 ERA) and Keone Kela (12 SV, 1.86) were also promoted one level. Infielder Trae Arbet has been good with a 1.6 WAR.

A: Quad Cities River Bandits (38-41, 7 GB, 5th) - First baseman Gunnar McNeill (.311/.356/.580) and shortstop Jack Mayfield (.281/.423/.419) have both been great, as they lead the team with 2.2 WAR apiece. Speedy second baseman Mitch Gasbarro has shown some power as well, with 11 home runs to go with 13 stolen bases. Pitching-wise, Josh Sborz (9-2, 2.93) has excelled.

2018 All-Star Game

The Astros had a whopping eight representatives on the AL team:

Pitchers Stephen Strasburg, Noah Syndergaard, and Kevin Chapman (2 scoreless innings, 3 K); first baseman Anthony Rizzo (Started, 0-3, BB); second baseman Nolan Fontana (Started, 1-3, K); outfielders Nick Williams (entered at CF) and Preston Tucker (PH-RF, BB); and designated hitter Dan Vogelbach (0-1 as pinch hitter). The game saw the AL defeat the NL by the score of 4 to 1.

Around the game, there were two major trades: Wil Myers was sent to Detroit; and Joc Pederson was traded to Oakland for Sean Doolittle and prospect Angel Suero, who has 4-star potential. In addition, we traded Kyle Hendricks to Milwaukee for reliever Dylan Cease, sparking fan interest.

Log is now dead; I decided to start a new log: http://www.mlbppworld.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8874 which is about the Cubs and I won't trade away ALL THE PROSPECTS in that one.