MLB The Show 13: Simulating The 2013 Season
By Jeff Schafer
This spring I promised my fiancé one thing, I wouldn’t buy MLB The Show 13. Even though the game looked incredible and probably better then ever, it would take up too much of my time that I already have little of. So instead of purchasing the game, I went to the Redbox to rent the game for a night….well that night has turned into a couple days now.
The critics have been spot on about the game, it looks and plays amazing but to play a 162 game season takes a lot of dedication. So to speed up the processes I decided to simulate a season and let you know the results. The season settings were not changed away from the default (162 games, 9 inning, injures, trades all on).
The Braves starting lineup for opening day in The Show looks similar to the one we’ve all projected, except for Brian McCann is healthy as well as Brandon Beachy. They choose Chris Johnson to play over Juan Francisco. Also no El Oso Blanco (Evan Gattis) even in the game.
Currently I’ve gone through the All-Star break…here are the results.
After a slow start to the season, the Braves fight their way back into contention to try and get back to the Washington Nationals, who have been dominating the NL East early with a 59-37 record. The Braves however have managed a 54-41 first half record, 4.5 games behind. The Phillies, Mets and Marlins are all pretty much out of contention already with records of 44-52, 41-53 and 35-59; each 15 games or more behind Washington.
Jason Heyward has started off the season on a tear. He has played in 93 games, only sitting out two games, while hitting a line of .315/.411/.614. Heyward already has 25 home runs, 79 RBI’s, 63 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. The dude has exploded out of the gate in his 4th MLB season and is on the road to the only Braves offensive player selected to the 2013 All-Star game and will get the start in right field.
The Braves offense in the first half of the 2013 season looks like this…
Justin Upton – .240/.343/.393, 11 HR, 48 RBI, 48 R, 6 SB, 59 K
Dan Uggla – .242/.341/.453, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 34 R, 66 K, 8 E
Freddie Freeman – .270/.351/.400, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 37 R, 49 K, 4 E
Brian McCann – .271/.335/.450, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 38 R
Andrelton Simmons – .258/.328/.395, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 45 R, 14 SB, 4 E
B.J. Upton – .308/.380/.480, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 35 R, 16 SB, 43 K
Chris Johnson – .273/.315/.353, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 40 R, 47 K, 4 E
* As most predicted, the home runs are adding up but also the strikeouts are piling on hard.
The pitching staff is lead by starting pitcher Kris Medlen who has gone 7-3 with a 3.73 ERA. Through 19 starts, Medlen has thrown 120.2 innings giving up 12 home runs, 114 hits and 30 walks. Kris has struck out 70 hitters and contains a 1.19 WHIP. Another flamethrower that is helping the Braves get to where they are is the lone Braves pitcher to make the All-Star game, Craig Kimbrel. He’s racked up 22 saves with a 2.08 ERA. In 26 innings he has 31 strikeouts and only walked 4 batters.
The Braves starting pitching staff for the first half of the 2013 season looks like this….
Tim Hudson – 7-7, 4.02 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 112 IP, 43 K, 34 BB, 3 CG
Paul Maholm – 10-6, 3.38 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 120 IP, 44 K, 28 BB
Brandon Beachy – 6-7, 3.04 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 121.1 IP, 86 K, 35 BB, 4 CG
*Mike Minor – 6-9, 4.22 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 111 IP, 72 K, 36 BB
*With a fractured shin, Minor is out for 1-2 months
The Braves relief pitching staff stats from before the All-Star break looks like this….
Cristhian Martinez – 53 GP, 56.2 IP, 7-2, 2.54 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 21 K, 16 BB, 4 BS
Eric O’Flaherty – 51 GP, 51.2 IP, 3-2, 2.61 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 29 K, 15 BB, 1 BS
Jordan Walden – 46 GP, 48.1 IP, 3-2, 2.98 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 35 K, 9 BB
Jonny Venters – 38 GP, 35 IP, 2-2, 2.06 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 27 K, 15 BB, 2 BS
Tomorrow we will go through the season to see where the Braves line up at the end of the season if and where they are placed in the playoffs.