Gone was the 8WAR catcher with a 55 CA, and my 55 Range corner outfielders. Three seasons ago I made a bigger push to focus more on defense. Team stacked with 4 and 5* guys, coasted through the regular season, and an absolutely abysmal playoff record. Thats baseball, I can be more descriptive if you’d like as this is a ramble but that’s my overall strategy, that and picking up good but not great improvements at the deadline for cheap prospect packages With all that said it’s a crapshoot just like in real life, that ace pitcher you have might just have a 5 era, that hitter who is fragile but you need to play him every night might get no hits and tear his acl. I try to have two elite hitters which generally fuels my offense in the playoffs as that’s what I changed to make deeper runs I also aim to just not have a liability in my positions, if you are a negative defensively it doesn’t bother me as long as it isn’t such a liability that it’s hurting despite the hitting numbers. Hitting wise I don’t think catching ability is the end all be all, if you can find a good hitting catcher then 55 or higher catching ability will work.

I try to build a middle of the pack bullpen with maybe one or two high end relievers and a top 3 rotation, getting a couple good starters isn’t insanely hard if you don’t mind giving up raw prospects which is generally my MO So whenever I get into the playoffs and don’t succeed it’s largely due to one thing which is lack of offense Just do what makes sense, but I usually start roster construction with the assumption that arriving at the above structure is an achievable and effective goal. Sometimes you can get a catcher whose bat is so impressive you don't mind his 50 catcher ability.

Sometimes it is easier to get three balanced players for your infield/outfield than it is to target a defensive specialist CF/SS with less impressive 2B/3B/LF/RF. Only go below the minimum for a truly supreme bat, and even then only at your own risk.Īs you acquire star players, it may make sense to diverge from the above roster construction. You can go down to the minimum for an X if you are justifying it with a big bat. Cells with an 'o' matter, but aren't as important as ones with X and can be fudged more readily for batting upgrades. Target something like the Target Rating number in the below table for each cell with an X in it. I think of defense in terms of how important the position is, and what skills matter. Limited fielders with solid bats can be kept as more targeted injury replacements. Minor leagues: have a few usable starting pitchers, one or two versatile infielders, one or two good defensive outfielders as a minimum. Check your SP splits to make sure none of them are only good against same-handed batters.

At least two of your relievers should be competent starting pitchers. 2-4 of your relievers should be lefties, and one of them should be really good against lefties with 'specialist' as his secondary role. You can instead use another 1B type and make him your go-to DH, but I usually prefer the utility guy so I don't have to start tired players as often. Then I like one guy with enough defensive versatility to play at least 2B, 3B, LF, and RF. Two of them have to be able to play CF, meaning they have at least 60 outfield range (but ideally 70+). You should start a SS with at least 60 defensive range, but ideally 70+. Infield: You will have four infielders (not counting 1B), and between them should have at least two guys who can play each position. Being tall or having an okay IF range helps, but I don't worry about bleeding runs defensively at 1B if it gets me a big bat. Here is what I think of as a pretty achievable baseline for roster construction:Ĭatcher: two guys with high catcher ability, one who hits better against lefties and another who hits better against righties.ġB: best hitter you can get.

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