Lineups And Depth Charts

By effectively managing your defensive positioning, batting order, and depth chart, you can optimize your team's performance and keep players fresh throughout the season.

Defensive Positioning

To set your starting lineup, you first need to manage your defensive positioning.

  • On the "Lineups" page, you can choose to edit your defense against right-handed pitchers (RHP) or left-handed pitchers (LHP).
  • You must select one player for each position, including the designated hitter (DH).
  • Players not chosen will be on the bench.
  • Keep in mind that playing players out of position will result in performance penalties.

Batting Lineup

Once you've set your defensive positioning, you can set your batting order.

  • You can only choose from the nine players selected in your defense.
  • If you want to change the players in your starting lineup, you must make changes to the defensive positioning pages.
  • The batting order can be set separately for RHP and LHP.
  • Consider placing your best hitters in your 2-4 slots, players with high on-base percentage at the top, and power hitters in the middle of the lineup.
  • Don't be afraid to experiment with different batting orders to maximize run production - much like MLB batting orders, finding the right combination can be art as well as science.

Depth Charts:

Your team's depth chart controls which players are used as substitutions due to fatigue.

  • Each position has a three-deep depth chart.
  • Each slot in the depth chart must be filled with a player.
  • Only players on the active roster can be on the depth chart.
  • The first tier of the depth chart represents your starting players but doesn't have to match your actual game lineup.
  • Any player can be placed in the second and third tiers of the depth chart.
  • Players can't be listed twice in the depth chart at the same position.

How Depth Charts Are Used: When players become fatigued, the computer manager will replace them based on the depth chart and fatigue levels.

  • Players are replaced in order of fatigue, starting with the most fatigued.
  • The computer manager searches for an eligible replacement from the depth chart.
  • If no eligible player is found, the starting DH will move into the position.
  • If the DH moves into the field, he takes the batting order spot of the replaced player.
  • The next eligible DH on the depth chart replaces the starting DH.
  • If no eligible player is found in the depth chart, a player from the bench will be used as a substitute. Position matching is not considered in this case.
  • Note that in rare cases where no additional players are available, the DH and a position player may swap roles to cover for fatigue.