OOTP 17 Simulates 2016 Twins

Recently, Out of the Park Baseball 17 launched for PC and Mac. The yearly gold standard in baseball simulators is once again a great time, I reviewed the newest version here. With the review out of the way however, I thought it fun to go hands off and run through a season to see where initial projections from the game see the 2016 version of the Twins.

After hanging around the .500 mark for most of the season, a late year fall marked Minnesota's doom. There was handful of injuries I saw pop up, and when the dust settled, the Twins finished with just a 67-95 record. Of the numbers produced by the simulation of the 2016 season, that record seems to be the one least likely to come to fruition.

Across baseball, OOTP 17 had both the Diamondbacks and Indians finishing with 101 wins. Other division winners included the Orioles (86), Astros (96), Nationals (98), and Cardinals (93). The defending World Series champion Royals finished the season with an 81-81 record.

Looking at the Twins team statistics, there's plenty to be interested in however.

Miguel Sano finished the year with an .841 OPS bolstered by his 28 home runs. Driving in 86 runs, he led the team in RBI as well. Behind Sano in the home run category was Byung Ho Park (24), Brian Dozier (22), and Trevor Plouffe (22). Dozier was also the club's doubles leader posting 40 on the season.

Baseball's top prospect will draw plenty of attention for the Twins this season. In the OOTP 17 sim, Byron Buxton owned a .247/.287/.393 slash line along with 25 doubles, five triples, 10 homers, and 53 runs batted in. In total, he was worth 2.6 WAR trailing only Dozier (4.0), Plouffe (3.2), and Sano (2.8).

On the pitching side of things, it was Tommy Milone who paced Minnesota in ERA with a 3.94 mark. His 11 wins tied for a team best alongside Kyle Gibson. Only Phil Hughes pitched over 200 innings (204.1) for Minnesota, while Glen Perkins tallied 38 saves for the club. Hughes also led the club with 147 strikeouts, but it was Tyler Duffey's 6.76 per 9 that made up the best ration on the team.

Looking at some of the youth, there were plenty of impressive performers. Alex Meyer posted a 3.51 ERA while notching 153 strikeouts (between AAA and MLB). Jose Berrios tallied a 4.11 ERA mark but pick up 12 total wins on the season. The minor league home run trophy didn't go to Adam Brett Walker (who hit 20 longballs), but instead was handed to Daniel Palka who blasted 35 dingers.

Spending most of the season on the farm, Jorge Polanco's .283 avg, 14 homers, and 61 runs batted in pushed him to be a 4.6 WAR player. Needing an opportunity that didn't come on the big league level, he handled his business in the minors. Down at Cedar Rapids, Lewis Thorpe dazzled to the tune of a 2.92 ERA to go with 170 strikeouts. Other top pitching prospects Kohl Stewart (3.28) and Stephen Gonsalves (3.61) enjoyed nice seasons at their respective levels as well.

It appears, at least as OOTP 17 sees it, that the big league club is still a little ways away. With plenty of pop and talent, things should come together in short order. There's no doubt that the prospects were looked upon fondly however.

Again, check out Off The Baggy's review of Out of the Park Baseball 17 here, and go buy the game today.

OOTP Baseball 17 Rounds The Bases Again

When it comes to baseball simulators, Out of the Park Baseball is the gold standard. With the latest iteration having just released, things haven't changed much for OOTP 17. When you have a formula that many fans of the series crave as the beginning of the regular baseball season, there's little reason to make much of an overhaul.

As a managerial simulator, OOTP 17 understands what it is and does it very well. Instead of being focused on graphics and in game controls, the representation of the game is much more focused on the in's and outs of the sport. This season however, OOTP 17 has added another level of realism thanks to the introduction of 3D Live-Action gameplay. Stadiums are realized in a better way than OOTP 17 has ever done before, and it enhances the in-game experience greatly.

Looking at the next big change for this year's version of OOTP, the game has been given even further credibility with the inclusion of both MLBPA and MLB.com licenses. Thanks to the inclusion, minor league rosters now date back accurately all the way to 1919. What was already an incredibly deep game, got even more so with the expanded options.

The rest of this season's changes come in with a much lesser overall hype to them, but the impact is almost as significant. In OOTP 17, there's a very real focus on helping to simplify whatever task you're taking on with your team. When cycling through menus and working through your simulation, interfaces have been streamlined helping to smooth out the next move you'd like to make.

Of course, OOTP 17 remains a very deep game, and it's going to be relatively overwhelming for new players. Thanks to the menu changes and redesigned interfaces however, there's a real feel of being walked through the process as you get used to the experience.

One of my biggest gripes from OOTP 16 was the trades that took place during any given season. The AI logic seems to have been improved this year however. While there will still be some head scratchers that come across your message box, more often than not, you'll end up seeming impressed with the moves other organizations make.

At the end of the day, there's very little hope in being able to highlight everything OOTP 17 brings to the baseball. It remains the most realistic baseball simulation on the market, and is a must buy for fans of the series and new entrants alike. Whether looking to experience the coming years with your favorite franchise, or dig into the teams of yesteryear, OOTP 17 hits another home run with this season's offering.

Socre: 9/10