Themed Task June 21st 2020- June 27th 2020

Writing and Podcasting
200 words or 5 min talking about why you would or would not go up in the S1 SBL Draft . You can talk about your reaction to the news and what you think about the situation. If you are moving up maybe cover what factors were the biggest selling point for you. Basically this is your chance to react to the announcement that was put up and even ask some questions to explore the subject.

Graphic
Give us a sneak peak at what some of these guys looked like declaring for the S1, I wanna see some suits and dresses. You can even meme the staff if you want for their decision. in your own graphical way show us something to do with the declaration, even player card honoring those who have signed up to be in the first draft

All the best,
SecondBaseBabe

I don't know what to do if I am honest. On one hand it is no need for rushing to the higher league but also it would be cool to be in the first season of the pro league. I have enjoyed having Captain Hook on Pittsburgh so this also make the decision tougher. I think if a GM of a pro team reaches out and makes it sound like a really exciting opportunity then maybe I will make my move up this draft. I don't know what to do at the moment and may not have a decision for a few days time. There are many many seasons ahead for Captain Hook to pitch in the pro league and as I said earlier there is no rush to move up. Patiently going to weigh the options and make a gut decision when I need to make the decision. For the other players out there in the same dilemma, take your time and trust your gut. I am looking forward to playing against all of you for many seasons to come and playing my way to being one of the best pitchers of the initial crew of members. Thanks for reading.

Good morning folks — this is a good Themed Task to write Up my story on my decision to go up for the S1 SBL Draft and read up on other folks thoughts.

It wasn’t easy for me. I’ve truly enjoyed my time here in Vegas with a great group of guys. We’ve got a good thing going and I just wish that our team was the actual majors, not the minors. I think that aspect was What really made my decision hard. But the minors are nothing more than a stepping stone in my career. I would hate to stop my career just cause I hit the 299 cap.

Ultimately, the opportunity to make an impact in the majors in the SBL inaugural season was just too much for me to pass up on. With my work as well as the incoming bonus, I would perpetually have an advantage over the S2/later draftees and also over the current SBL fillers. That is also a selling point for me and I look forward to testing out my build plan next season. Gonna strive to become the all time strikeouts leader in the SBL! Nitro-Mania is coming to a SBL Team near you soon!

The decision was a pretty easy one to make, mainly because it was never my call to make. Per the league rules, since I was not in the SBLM Draft and signed as a free agent, it means I'll be placed in the Season One SBLM Draft and have another go here in the SBLM next season. Yeah, I might have to wait a little longer for those pro dreams to be realized, but it could all be worth it in the end.

On one hand, it sucks to not get the chance to go pro right now, but at the same time, there are positives to it. Despite all the hard work I've been putting in, flaws have been showing up in my game, and this extra season in the SBLM will allow me to iron out those rough spots. It also means that when my time does come to go pro, I'll be a much more polished prospect, and I could be drafted much higher in the Season Two SBL Draft.

I've fit in very nicely with Sherbrooke and the Mohawks organization, but with being returned to the draft pool, I very well could be elsewhere next season. All I can do is just do my best wherever I end up, regardless of where I get drafted. There won't exactly be a shortage of playing time either way, but fitting in with a new team the way I have with Sherbrooke will definitely be on my mind.

It was never a question. I'm moving up. I told Snu even before he drafted me in the SBLM. I wanna be in that first crop of stars in the SBL. That first season was a good learning experience for me, and for the rest of the Sherbrooke Mohawks, and I'm thankful for that, but now I need to make my way to the big show. Mekajiki is currently 4th in the league in batting average, and probably just outside the top 5 in WAR, at a flat 4.0. He's been one of the best players in the league throughout this inaugural season, and I think it would be a wasted effort to leave him down there one more season. He has done what was expected of him, and now it's time for him to shine brighter.

I'm excited to have the potential to be one of the early star in a sim league. Only other time it happened for me was in the NSHL, a hockey sim league using the vastly superior EHM as its sim engine, compared to every other league using STHS (or FHM now, I guess). Being a EHM nerd myself, I knew I'd be able to make a strong player right off the bat, and it was a great feeling. RW Hunter Cardinal finished the inaugural season of the NSHL first in goals, first in points, and his team lost in the Cup Finals. And then the NSHL died, so I never got to be the early star that gets immortalized in the HOF, or that gets a trophpy named after him. All I have now is bragging rights about the fact that I'm the all-time goals and points leader in the history of the NSHL.

I don't have the same kind of experience with OOTP, but I'm still confident I'll be able to make a strong player, and just the idea that I have this opportunity is really exciting for me. I can't wait to see in which team I end up.

I do not think it's a good idea for Archie Swift to go up to the SBL Season 1 draft because Archie is a young chap who is not ready to go up there just yet. I know there is a lot of work to do before moving up there, plus, he really likes his time in Pittsburgh so far, so he will continue to play there until he is ready. Right now, he is coming out of the bullpen as a reliever, but he really wants to be a starter, so it will be important to keep developing until he is ready to be a starter in this league. He has made 13 appearances out of the pen so far with a 3.33 ERA over those games, so there is a lot of work to do or he would get absolutely shelled in the big leagues. He wants to be a first round pick, so there is a lot of work to do to get there. To be a starter and to be a first round pick, he will not be leaving Pittsburgh until both of those things happen. So, you can certainly expect Archie Swift to be in Pittsburgh for 1-2 more seasons depending on TPE cap.

Words: 209 wrote:

I decided I wouldn't be going up in this draft, as I put off joining the league until all my exams were over and I could put a good amount of time into getting started here without having to feel weird about it. As a consequence, I missed the first few update weeks, and I'm currently behind other SBLM actives. This was a more difficult decision than one would think, though--on one hand, if I stay down, I end up being at the top of my class, earning the full cap with a job and presumably earning myself a nice high draft slot. On the other hand, though, with uncapping comes the chance at capitalizing on an effect which I've seen elsewhere, one which could potentially help out those who do uncap a ton.

You see, being a member of the first-ever draft class puts you above everybody else in TPE, all the time (before regression, of course). There aren't any veteran members to catch up to and you'll always (theoretically) put up the league's best numbers. I can't speak for other leagues, but in the VHL, our S1 class is loaded with Hall-of-Fame players, many of whom have set some truly unbreakable records. The same may happen here if OOTP works the same way.

So why am I not uncapping and why am I staying down? The simple answer is that I'm just a bit behind. Will that affect my career? I don't know. But the unbreakable records people, the people who start on top and never leave it, is probably a group which I cannot reach. My first season or so would likely not be up to par with the rest. So, it's AAA for me, and I'll hope to make things happen in the big leagues next season.

Of course Pingu Flipperson is going up to the draft. As a lead off batter who loves the thrill of stealing bases, what else would he do other than rush right into the big leagues. "It's an unexplored frontier," said Flipperson, "I have no idea what's going to happen and it's damned exciting."

When asked about his role in the SBL, "I think the big league could use someone that generates a bit of excitement and in terms of performance I'd like to think I'm pretty stellar. I'm a decent contact hitter, decent baserunner, decent stealing so you can't really go wrong with picking me at the draft!"

In terms of teams I think there's this basketball coach who I follow closely. He owns a steakhouse, and he coaches! I heard he's planning on acquiring a baseball team as well. Yeah, I believe I'd like to join Pingu Flipperson in Minnesota or whatever team he coaches. To be honest, I don't think I really care where I play as long as I get played and the fans are there.

My only concern is why everyone thinks not going up is the right decision. We're in a competitive market and the more you delay you entrance the less demand you're going to be in when the spotlights already so focused on others. I think jumping up is a great move for your career especially with all the PR and fame that goes with it.

I am a TPE whore so I ain't going up on S1, even though I think it is likely the right move to do. Let's analyze this shit throughly, the S2 class is dead unless the site gives out a lot of bonus. To be in the S2 class, you want to be 265 after playoff week so 2 more updates to hit that so you get bumped to 299 and uncap. Guess what? Most of the players aren't on 265. I am at 212 or 228 with the double. I have playoff week so another 14 puts me at 242. That's not 265 yet. Only the early birds can get to 265, but if you are the early bird you would likely be declaring for S1 class. Thus, I expect S2 class to be dead and "stuck in the middle" while TPE whore like me go for S3 class and the early bird will go S1. This means that S1 class have two years advantage over most people and can dominate for years to come. It is very interesting to just outright go up and slap people around, but again, I am a TPE whore. I want to go to 299 and then earn as much as possible. Anything lower than that and I am unhappy, so I am staying down, even if I think it's not as good of a choice. I also sucked ball in this season's game so I want to do better next season and uncap with more TPE. More reason for me to stay down.

[261 words]

I'm heading up to the pros with Dale Cooper for sure. The 150 tpe bump is a big sell for me because it helps me to get my defense as high as I want it, and then I'll be allowed to spend my weekly updates doing things that will improve quicker like gap hitting and avoiding strikeouts. I also think that if I don't go up season one that my player will be at a disadvantage in the pros, as his timeline will always be one season behind the top earners in the league which would hurt my chances of bringing in awards and really making a legacy for Cooper.

I'm excited to see where I do go in the pros because I think this season did a really good job of highlighting that my player is useful even when his bat is average. I hope I get drafted to a team that wants to build around what I'm doing with Cooper, as I value going to the right team way higher than I value going highly. Being on a solid defensive team with good updates and pitching would make me super happy, but I'll also be glad to try and help out any franchise that drafts me

I never got drafted to the SBLM, as I was a later free agent signing. For this reason, it was never my decision to go up to the pros or not, and so I am being placed into the SBLM Draft for next season instead. Instead of going to the pros for the first pro season in league history, I will have to wait it out. This is fine with me.

I think it has been pretty obvious that I, Jermaine Cole, have had a pretty rocky season in the SBLM with the Sherbrooke Mohawks. Earlier in the season, I was one of the top pitchers in the league. Later on in the season, things seemed to have gotten a little messy with me starting on the mound, and that has been unfortunate. Our team has had some wins, but it feels like more often than not, we will lose when I am a starter.

It will be bittersweet for me as a pitcher, not being able to be drafted to the SBL, but I am okay with it. I will have another season of developing in the minors and working on my game, which obviously is what is needed. Wherever I end up, I will try to play my heart out for them. I have no issues with whatever team that drafts me.

Of course Kurtis McKenzie declared for the s1 SBL draft. It's been a great year in the SBLM for Kurtis, and thats why he had to declare. It's gotten to easy. He's quite possibly the league MVP. He needs to move on and move up and give someone else a chance. Pitchers can breathe a sigh of relief. Kurtis McKenzie will no longer be around to torment your starting pitching.

It's sad to be leaving Sherbrooke. The amount of talent in Sherbrooke should have resulted in move wins. Alas, it feels like the talent in Sherbrooke is all rushing away. Mekajiki, McKenzie, McRlwain? Gone with the wind.

I can see the reasoning behind staying down. Spending a year or 2 in the minors could mean you are even better by the time you break into the SBL. But McKenzie? He's so good already, another two years wouldn't help much. Dude is a baller, shot caller.

If McKenzie had a choice of what team he went to? He'd probably choose the Invaders. They have a cool logo and a cute starting pitcher in Sandy Beach. Wait, that part wasn't supposed to be published. Anyways, this 200 word themed tasks will end in five, four, three, two, done.

Wayne Taylor decided to declare for the SBL draft after a fairly poor season, but he still managed to show signs of greatness.

His potential is like none other but his floor is guy who belongs on a minor league bench. Most likely though he will be drafted high up for his potential alone however there are other elite sim greats at catcher that teams might look for in the future or for now.

However we don’t focus on them we focus on Taylor.
He definitely improved over the stretch of the season, and he’s on an impressive 4 game hit streak. He also has a solid WAR at 2.1 which shows he will be a good contribution in the future. He also won a player of the week award in June.

He’ll definitely miss  his good relationship with the amazing pitchers he had. If he has that sim luck which every good sim player needs to succeed no matter what league you’re in, he’ll be a sure-fire superstar. If he misses then he’ll leave a GM regretting the fact that they chose some random catcher for Canada who was a part of his minor league's team hitting problems.
So the question is who will take a chance of the Canadian Kid.

Will Austin Schwartz declare?

Austin is thinking of declaring for the draft this season. While rarely dominant, Schwartz put together a very solid campaign with 15 wins against just 6 losses across a total of 204 IP. This gives him the confidence that he will at least be a useful back-end starter or long reliever in the SBL. His relatively high stamina has let him go deep into games with 3 CG and 13 Quality Starts, and Austin hopes that will make him handy for a handful of SBL teams.

As for his stuff, Schwartz is currently more of a 1-pitch pitcher than anything with a much higher rated fastball compared to his offspeed pitches. While this could make it easy for SBL hitters to tee off on him, scouts rate his movement and control at a high enough level where he will still be able to confuse and strikeout some pro batters.

With the additional training bonus, Schwartz would probably focus much of his offseason improving his velocity, while also upgrading his 2nd and 3rd pitches. Hopefully, with these upgrades in place, Austin will be more likely to succeed as a capable 3rd or 4th starter rather than just a mop-up guy who gives up bombs in blowouts. That’s no fun for anyone.

210 words

Cid Ramirez recently declared for the Season 1 SBL Draft – and it was initially a difficult decision when the announcement first came out, but after seeing the class size overall, I felt it was a trivial one. The bonus – 150 TPE – is substantial, and it seems to cover just about one season’s worth (i.e. an uncapping season). But the bonus wasn’t my primary deciding factor in electing to declare. Instead, it was the overall prospect pool available for the pros.

There are a few notable prospects opting to skip an uncap year – among them Cid’s competition in Mario McRlwain, Pittsburgh’s James Boxman, Austin Schwartz, Magnus Coretti, and even his own teammate Nate Nitro. But all things considered, it’s not a particularly large class: after all, even with all of the aforementioned names included, Cid would be just the sixth prospect to declare – which means he’d either be the first or second starter on whatever pro team decides to take him in the draft. I’m hoping that, by declaring relatively early in a pool of ~6 great pitching prospects, I’ll have some degree of sway with regards to which team I go to (as many of the top pitchers are essentially identical in TPE).

But we won’t know until the draft actually happens, huh?