2039.5: FPL Roster Selection

[Rubaboo]

I just want to start this out with a disclaimer: I like the FPL alot. It is my personal feeling, backed on no facts and no findings and no empirical evidence, that prospects need playtime to develop. Anything that gives my prospects development time is a good thing. I like the selection process, I like that it is its own subleague (so guys don't get pissed when you send them there) I like the ambiguity behind who should be sent. It's great fun for me. The selection process doesn't cause me great angst, as I pretty much have it boiled down to what works well for me and, with some exceptions, I tend not to stray too far from my guidelines. What are those guidelines, you might ask? Well, lucky you, I'll lift the veil behind my madness for you and tell you, the fortunate, fortunate reader, how I make my FPL decisions. I had considered burying this halfway through hour 2 of an AFBI in the future, but the timing didn't work out for me to sit for 4 hours of unrestrained, moderately BBA related prattle this week, so here we are. My hope is to lay out reasons I include guys and reasons I don't, then list my 2039 FPL roster and state the reason(s) they're in or out. I also have some noteable additions that I will point out and talk briefly about why they weren't included even though it seems to fly in the face of my inclusion logic. This is definitely open for debate and discussion, so if you have feelings, please share them. Without further ado...

Guys who get picked for FPL are...
1) Top Prospects
- Easy one to start out. This is an opportunity for guys to get some development time. The guys that you need to develop to keep your organization healthy and competitive are your top guys. I try to only send guys that I believe will be successful BBA players going forward.
2) Bumpers (and potential [and hopeful] bumpers)
- Guys who have bumped before, in my unfounded opinion, have a good chance to bump again with the right combination of environment and playtime. Send them where the can be successful, and cross your fingers.
3) Lumpers
- We all make our sacrifices to the Lump Monster. Sometimes successful seasons can help stop a guy from bleeding his ratings. Sometimes they don't. Never know if you don't try.
4) In need of positional/utility training
- Probably not a good enough reason to send a guy on its own, but still important. The minor leagues are a place for guys to log innings at different positions so they can play where and when you need them to fill a hole on your big league club. FPL provides innings for guys to learn to ply the glove in new and interesting ways.
5) Coming off injury during the previous minor league season
- Self explanatory and, again, about innings. Guys need to play to develop and they can't play if they spend half the season on the IL. A short stint can throw off development curves. This can help put them back on track.
6) Roster filler
- Sometimes your system is bare, and you need to put 27 guys in FPL so you just grab your last 3 guys that just happen to not have holiday internships or something. It happens.

Guys who don't get picked for FPL are...
1) On pace to be important contributors at the BBA level next season
- I usually won't send guys who figure prominently into my plans for the big club next season. The risk of injury is real and it's not worth it, in my opinion, to risk a guy who's going to be a starting OF in the BBA to have him slash .478/.565/.750 in FPL for a month before going down with a torn labrum. It happens, but generally not on my watch because those guys are not going anywhere near the FPL fields for me.
2) Guys (almost always SP) have have had a heavy workload during the minor league season
- This rule is almost always applied to SP prospects for me. I will try to avoid sending SP prospects who have already thrown 100-120 innings for me the previous season. Again, a baseless assumption, but I just feel like a 19 year old arm doesn't need that kind of stress.
3) Underdeveloped
- I, as a general rule, tend not to send down 18 year olds who have very low current ratings. They don't have much success and sucking kills their morale.
4) Scrubs
- Oh, you're a 3/5/4/3/4 1B prospect? That's neat, how have I not cut you already? You're not going to waste FPL dugout oxygen that could be going to a guy who might be an actual prospect some day. Kbai.

Oh, one more thing...
Ok, so the way that I play this game, and every game, and life, really, comes down to one thing: I trust my gut. If I get a feeling that I should send a guy over maybe a more heralded guy, I'll do it even if it seems like there's no rhyme or reason to it. That's how I ended up with Jose Estrada bashing BBA homers instead of being sent to the scrap heap. Filler in my IC who I sent to FPL on a whim who bumped into a monster. All the proof I need right there.

There are obviously exceptions and caveats to all of this, as you will see with the roster I have assembled for 2039. That's OOTP and the BBA in a nutshell really though, everything is liquid. Enough about me now, let's talk about the players:

Pitchers
P Kusuma Djojohadiksumo
- Reasons for selection: 1, 2
- Jojo has been a little up and down with his ratings. That 7 stuff is pretty recent and I'm hoping some success in FPL will help keep it there.
P Edgardo Martinez
- Reasons for selection: 2
- Edgardo is a bit of a borderline prospect. The game likes him better than I do, but he's got a decent arsenal and I'm hoping he bumps his ratings with some additional playtime.
P Manuel Ortiz
- Reason for selection: 3
- Manuel has been on a serious lumping spree over the last 12 months. Stop it.
P Juan Ramirez
- Reasons for selection: 2, 6
- Juan bumped once before, 4 years ago, but maybe some extra innings will help him be something?
P Mario Rivera
- Reason for selection: 2
- He's got the pitches, now he just needs the ratings. Bumped his movement once since the draft, keep it up.
P Tsurayuki Yamaguchi
- Reason for selection: 6, 1(?)
- The game insists he's one of my top pitching prospects, so I guess I'll run him out there and trust OOTP to do me a favor for trusting it...
P Fernando Delgado
- Reason for selection: 6
- My pitching system isn't deep so he gets a ticket to the FPL at 25. Probably Ol' Fernando's last chance...
P Bob Glenn
- Reason for selection: 2
- Bumped a couple times, good pitches, well developed, only 20.
P Shinsaku Ine
- Reasons for selection: 1, 2
- Ine has hit the development afterburner since being drafted. If he can keep bumping and developing he'll be a top closer. If I get really lucky he could add another pitch and magically become a SP prospect. Dreams are fun...
P Ramiro Lopez
- Reasons for selection: 6
- Lopez has the pitches, but the ratings need some help. Again, my pitching system is pretty shallow and I need arms down there.
P Cipriano Rodriguez
- Reason for selection: 2
- Bumped a little bit awhile ago but at 22 needs all the help he can get to become relevant.
P Reynaldo Rodriguez
- Reason for selection: 2
- A 20 year old flame thrower who needs to fill out his movement and control to be effective at the big league level. Hoping that more work will help.
P Cliff Reus
- Reasons for selection: 1, 3
- Maybe this is the season he figures out that slider? Running out of time, Cliffy...

Notable Exclusions:
P AJ Mahoney
P RJ Davis
My top 2 2039 draft picks don't have the current ratings I'd like to see to be comfortable sending them to FPL so they'll stay home for the season.

Hitters
C Jose Alba
- Reason for selection: 6
- Alba is an asset to a young staff behind the dish, so he gets a nod. My C talent pool is not deep here, people.
C Leon Romo
- Reason for selection: 6
- Carbon copy of Alba in alot of ways. Good D, not a talented pool. Moving along...
1B Jose Ayala
- Reasons for selection: 1, 4
- Good lefty bat, might see some time in the OF if need be.
IF Marvin Isworth
- Reasons for selection: 1, 4
- Developed like crazy after being drafted last season, almost too fast. He's played SS almost exclusively in the minors and now I need him at 2B. He might break camp in 2040 on the Mexico City roster, so he'll need every second of 2B training available.
IF Lucio Martinez
- Reasons for selection: 4
- I like this guy. He's a young 20 and well developed and has the ratings to play all over the infield. With luck, a little bumping is in order for him.
3B(?) Manny Collazo
- Reasons for selection: 1, 4
- Good bat, needs a position. A low range corner OF or a weak arm 3B. He'll get some run at 3B and maybe 1B but will mainly serve as an infield backup for the 2039 FPL season due to his lower current ratings.
IF Zeleny Blazkova
- Reasons for selection: 4, 6
- A utility guy who still needs utility training. He'll be the primary backup at 2B and SS.
IF Sixto Palma
- Reasons for selection: 4
- Essentially full developed at 20, hoping a little play time gives him an offensive bump and more positional versatility.
OF Lucio Becerra
- Reasons for selection: 4
- Decent, mostly developed bat at 20. Hoping for a bump and some 1B training.
OF Juan Rocha
- Reasons for selection: 1, 4
- Rocha is mostly ready to go, just needs some more OF training.
OF Juan Valverde
- Reason for selection: 4
- Valverde could be a great utility guy, he just needs versatility training. Bat development wouldn't hurt either.
OF Rodrigo Moreno
- Reason for selection: 4
- Moreno could use a little work in the OF but is otherwise here for some innings in hope of a bump.
OF Jean-Francois Hamon
- Reasons for selection: 1, 3, 4
- Hamon was a highly prized IFA capture before he started lumping. He needs to stabalize and get some work both at 1B and in the OF.
OF\P Javier Escobedo
- Reasons for selection: 2, 4
- Bumped his contact recently, plus, I literally just realized he has some pitches! I mean, he sucks as a pitcher but he might still get to throw a bit. Furthermore, that nickname...

Notable Exclusions:
OF Fernando Moreno
- Probably going to be starting in a corner OF spot for the big club next season. Not worth the risk to up his rating in the corners in FPL. He'll have to get what he can get in ST.
OF Frederick Brisset
- Just doesn't have the currents that I'd like him to have. Plus, in a loaded outfield group he got a little squeezed by guys who needed the playtime a bit more.

[bigmike13]

Thanks for this. Always good to hear other opinions. I like what you did with your team

[RonCo]

Definitely like this. Assuming we keep the FPL going, I think we should package the top part as a FAQ and link to it in Newbie Guide.

If that happens, I'd suggest a few bonus PPT are in order.

[RonCo]

And regarding the assessment, it's very much in line with my thoughts, though I kind of scale pitcher load by age a bit. I'll be throwing a couple relievers as starters in the FPL this year to keep innings in check.

[shoeless.db]

Thanks for this post. It's helpful to understand how other guys go about making decisions. Too bad we couldn't discuss this on the podcast...

[bschr682]

Thanks for this post. It's helpful to understand how other guys go about making decisions. Too bad we couldn't discuss this on the podcast...

You wouldn’t have shown up anyway!

[Rubaboo]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I know there's always alot of hand-wringing about who to send and why and whatnot. I was hoping to lend a little clarity because I do genuinely like the FPL. The TN also lends itself much more to a structured, usable output instead of whatever nonsense I'd end up spouting on a podcast. Maybe we should try to get a couple guys and do a live team selection one next season or something.

[bcslouck]

Your selection process is basically what I do as well. Probably like a 90% similarity.

I did send Lara (can't link at the moment), who is developed and primed to start at the ML level next year. Someone I don't think you'd send based on your list. I'd like to see his defense fill a bit more and he struggled at AAA after his promotion from AA despite being ready. So I'm hoping to give him a confidence boost (if that's a thing in OOTP) going into the offseason and Spring Training.

I also do have some scrub pitching prospects there because I don't have a ton of pitching prospects that have already passed my threshold, which is 100 innings or so. But some are guys I hope can bump on the back of some solid seasons.

[Rubaboo]

Your selection process is basically what I do as well. Probably like a 90% similarity.

I did send Lara (can't link at the moment), who is developed and primed to start at the ML level next year. Someone I don't think you'd send based on your list. I'd like to see his defense fill a bit more and he struggled at AAA after his promotion from AA despite being ready. So I'm hoping to give him a confidence boost (if that's a thing in OOTP) going into the offseason and Spring Training.

I also do have some scrub pitching prospects there because I don't have a ton of pitching prospects that have already passed my threshold, which is 100 innings or so. But some are guys I hope can bump on the back of some solid seasons.

Without digging through your system a ton, I can say that I have no problem with Lara in the FPL. The only change I would make is that I would probably be starting him at C instead of 1B. He's got more value there both overall and to your team as a whole because you're already got Hebner and Guerrer entrenched in your 1B/DH spots. All depends on your long term plans, obviously, but if I were you I'd be planning on him replacing Barrera as your strong side C next season.

[bcslouck]

Without digging through your system a ton, I can say that I have no problem with Lara in the FPL. The only change I would make is that I would probably be starting him at C instead of 1B. He's got more value there both overall and to your team as a whole because you're already got Hebner and Guerrer entrenched in your 1B/DH spots. All depends on your long term plans, obviously, but if I were you I'd be planning on him replacing Barrera as your strong side C next season.

Well Shiplack is supposed to be on the team as well and from what I can tell, he's not. He doesn't have any AB's so I don't know if something decided to put him on my reserve. I haven't downloaded the file yet. I can't remember how I had them set up but both were suppose to play. I may of had them switching between C and DH.

My plan is definitely to have Lara be my strong side C and move on from Barrera. I did want to get him AB's at 1B just for position flexibility down the line but usually I do that against LHP. He won't play against LHP once he's in Baltimore.

[Rubaboo]

Without digging through your system a ton, I can say that I have no problem with Lara in the FPL. The only change I would make is that I would probably be starting him at C instead of 1B. He's got more value there both overall and to your team as a whole because you're already got Hebner and Guerrer entrenched in your 1B/DH spots. All depends on your long term plans, obviously, but if I were you I'd be planning on him replacing Barrera as your strong side C next season.

Well Shiplack is supposed to be on the team as well and from what I can tell, he's not. He doesn't have any AB's so I don't know if something decided to put him on my reserve. I haven't downloaded the file yet. I can't remember how I had them set up but both were suppose to play. I may of had them switching between C and DH.

My plan is definitely to have Lara be my strong side C and move on from Barrera. I did want to get him AB's at 1B just for position flexibility down the line but usually I do that against LHP. He won't play against LHP once he's in Baltimore.

Yeah, there's 20 dudes on your reserve, and Shiplack is one of them.

[bcslouck]

There is suppose to be 20 but he isn't suppose to be one of them. -_- So that will be fixed by next sim.

[jleddy]

2) Guys (almost always SP) have have had a heavy workload during the minor league season
- This rule is almost always applied to SP prospects for me. I will try to avoid sending SP prospects who have already thrown 100-120 innings for me the previous season. Again, a baseless assumption, but I just feel like a 19 year old arm doesn't need that kind of stress.

Makes sense, in theory, and I agree, which is why I'm going with a six-man rotation with low(er) pitch counts just so they get the reps but not too many innings.

Fantastic overall post.

[ae37jr]

There is suppose to be 20 but he isn't suppose to be one of them. -_- So that will be fixed by next sim.

My roster got shuffled as well. Even down to pitchers having incorrect pitch counts. Triple checked to make sure I did everything right and exported like 5 times. Seems to happen every year.

[bcslouck]

My roster got shuffled as well. Even down to pitchers having incorrect pitch counts. Triple checked to make sure I did everything right and exported like 5 times. Seems to happen every year.

Yeah I think so.

[RonCo]

There is suppose to be 20 but he isn't suppose to be one of them. -_- So that will be fixed by next sim.

My roster got shuffled as well. Even down to pitchers having incorrect pitch counts. Triple checked to make sure I did everything right and exported like 5 times. Seems to happen every year.

Interesting. I don't remember checking it before, but mine's been stable this year so far, it seems.

[bcslouck]

Interesting. I don't remember checking it before, but mine's been stable this year so far, it seems.

The last 2 years for sure haven't held for me after exporting. It's only the selection process and lineups.

[HoosierVic]

Enjoyed reading your thought process on this!