Poor Result
I'm going to start with the absurd. António Meléndez is a DH in every sense of the word. 2/1/2/1 infield and 4/5/4 in the OF. You just can't play this guy anywhere. I sent him to lab with the hopes of making a playable first baseman out of him. I figured.... he's 6'3, throws left handed and has a 5 error as an outfielder. Shouldn't be too much to ask.
Since has run of the mill WE + IQ and failed this area last year also, I wasn't getting my hopes up. When I saw he concluded poorly, I was not shocked nor disappointed. Even if he lost ratings, he's just a DH anyway. So what does it matter? But I was curious to see what position he tried for.
Are you frigg'in kidding me? I sent this guy to the D-Lab to learn a new position. He essentially knows zero positions right now.... so you had 9 to choose from...and you can't even teach him how to be a DH? What does that even mean. Is his range so bad that he can't scoot over when a team mate sits next to him?Alan,
A. Meléndez has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to learn a new position.
Here is the short summary about his time at the development complex.
Meléndez really struggled to make the shift to DH. He had a difficult time transferring his current defensive skills to the position, with balls getting past him left and right. Needless to say that by the end of the training, coaches strongly suggested that he should not attempt to play there during the season.
While it's difficult to measure the exact changes specifically due to his time at the facility, here is my best estimate:
No noticeable changes.
Your Development Complex Director
I like to joke. But in all seriousness, he was going to be me DH no matter what. I just get pissed when the software's got jokes at my expense. Something that may have influenced the results is that he ended up playing 1B in a spring training game I guess. Cause his 1B exp raised to one. Oh well.
No Improvement
Jorge Flores currently has ratings at 7 different positions. Some may ask why I would waste a D-Lab spot on him. Either he is going to become a shitty catcher... or learn how to play first first base. The latter he could pickup in like 5 spring training games and would likely never play there anyway cause he is a plus middle infielder. But like I said earlier. It's a bit of a hack. he learns 1B, gains a bit of range and/or errors and becomes a better middle infielder by default.
When I saw he was struggling, I just assumed he was learning catcher. Nope.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.... this guy is 6'2 and already has 9/7/8/9 infield ratings. You're telling me that you can't even make him a 1 fielder at 1B? Have you even seen the movie Moneyball? Anyone can play 1B. It's not that hard.Hello Alan,
J. Flores has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to learn a new position.
Here is the short summary about his time at the development complex.
Coaches tried Flores out at several positions, but eventually decided on trying him at 1B since he showed some promise there. Unfortunately, despite weeks of on-field drills, one on one coaching, and more, Flores was not able to improve to a point where he would not simply be a liability on the field. Perhaps if he was forced at that position for longer he may develop some feel for it, but as it stands I would not say he could play 1B.
While it's difficult to measure the exact changes specifically due to his time at the facility, here is my best estimate:
No noticeable changes.
Your Development Complex Director
Outstanding
I'll save the more fun ones towards the end and throw the run of the mill result here. Pedro Aguilar is the one payer that understood the assignment.
.Hello Alan,
P. Aguilar has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to learn a new position.
Here is the short summary about his time at the development complex.
Aguilar did extremely well at the training facility! Coaches tried him out at 1B and he was a natural. He worked on many different drills and exercises with staff, and by the end of his program nothing was getting by him. He has come out of the practice with great confidence at 1B, and I've noticed his fielding abilities at the position have also improved dramatically.
While it's difficult to measure the exact changes specifically due to his time at the facility, here is my best estimate:
Infield error rating improves by 2
Turn doubleplay rating improves by 3
Infield range rating improves by 2
Infield arm rating improves by 1
Learned 1B
Your Development Complex Director
Just as you would expect, an outfielder picking up a first base mitt and becoming an acceptable fielder. This was much needed though. If you read the last article, my main goal was to get a lefty hitting 1B out of Melendez/Yuan/Aguilar so they could split some time at 1B with Matthew Malone. Aguilar was my 3rd choice, but at least I got one of them.
Outstanding
This offseason I spent waaaaaayyy too much time trying to read into what players personality and scouting report blurbs may really mean. Cause after all, in software, text is just numbers in a readable format. So while Chao Yuan had a predictable lab result, the peripherals have my mind spinning.
Alan,
C. Yuan has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to learn a new position.
Here is the short summary about his time at the development complex.
Yuan did extremely well at the training facility! Coaches tried him out at CF and he was a natural. He worked on many different drills and exercises with staff, and by the end of his program nothing was getting by him. He has come out of the practice with great confidence at CF, and I've noticed his fielding abilities at the position have also improved dramatically.
While it's difficult to measure the exact changes specifically due to his time at the facility, here is my best estimate:
Outfield error rating improves by <1
Outfield range rating improves by <1
Outfield arm rating improves by <1
Learned CF
Your Development Complex Director
For starters... if his ratings only improved by <1... how is that outstanding? And just reading the text, it makes me really believe that he did a great job. I guess it's all relative though and I'm fairly confident that the text is just generic text for an outstanding result. But then I read this.....
You don't see that with every outstanding result. I'm fairly confident through some of my research that these "random" stories aren't as random as they seem. I believe them to be triggered by some kind of internal aligning of the stars that opens up developmental windows. Meaning maybe his outfield ratings will now be capable of increasing at a rate higher than most.Twin Cities River Monsters thinking of trying Yuan out at CF
Friday, March 27th , 2065
Chao Yuan has made a seamless transition to CF this season, stepping into the role for the Twin Cities River Monsters as part of the team's efforts to improve their organizational depth. Chao Yuan quickly adapted to the new demands of the position.
“It’s definitely a change, but I’m excited to take it on,” Chao Yuan said. “I’ve been focusing on learning the specifics of CF and doing whatever I can to help the team.”
While it’s still early in the transition, Chao Yuan’s willingness to embrace the challenge has been a bright spot for the Twin Cities River Monsters. The coaching staff has been impressed with his dedication, and fans should be eager to see how he continues to develop in this new role.
With his commitment to growth, Chao Yuan looks set to make an impact in the CF for years to come.
The flip side is that even if what I believe to be true, is true. Ratings are still king. Yuan is never going to be a viable CF no matter what kind of voodoo magic exists. At the same time, I don't want to leave anything on the table. If he's got another point or two of range or errors in him, I want it. But what exactly do I have to do to get it? Do I actually need to play him in CF to align the combination of the lock? Or is playing him at a corner good enough?
Outstanding
Herman de Jonge is one of those players that you have no plans for but somehow continually makes himself more useful as time goes by. He wants more playing time and since we've unlocked 650+ plate appearances at 1B this winter, we'd give him some experience at the position and see what happens.
Good morning Alan,
H. de Jonge has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to learn a new position.
Here is the short summary about his time at the development complex.
de Jonge did extremely well at the training facility! Coaches tried him out at 2B and he was a natural. He worked on many different drills and exercises with staff, and by the end of his program nothing was getting by him. He has come out of the practice with great confidence at 2B, and I've noticed his fielding abilities at the position have also improved dramatically.
While it's difficult to measure the exact changes specifically due to his time at the facility, here is my best estimate:
Infield error rating improves by 3
Turn doubleplay rating improves by 2
Infield range rating improves by 2
Infield arm rating improves by 1
Learned 2B
Your Development Complex Director
Well, that was unexpected. Again, I don't necessarily consider the position learned as the gain, just the raw talents picked up. de Jonge is now 6/5/8/5 as an infielder. That makes him a 10 potential 1B and 6 potential at 3B. At the very least, he now becomes an asset as a defensive sub at 1B. 3B is still a little hairy, especially since he has yet to play a game there and has no options left to learn in the minors. It's probably in my best interest to not play him at all at 3B and give him another roll next year. But man, that's a hefty size bump. Why couldn't Yuan have been the one to pick up 2 range, 3 error and 1 arm?
