Following is a very basic guideline on how to read the numbers using Danger Z’s High Heat Editor. Hopefully, this will get newcomers up and running in regards to judging talent and creating a depth chart for their team.

Arm Strength - This is important to most positions, especially outfield and catcher. A strong arm guarantees the ball will get where it’s going in a hurry. An arm strength of 1-3 is ok for a 1st baseman since he isn’t throwing as often or as far as your other positions. An arm strength of 4 – 6 is good for a middle infielder or 3rd baseman. You want your outfielders to have in the 6 – 10 range though, and especially RF. A rifle of an arm in RF will keep a lot of base runners from going 1st to 3rd on singles hit through the right side. It can also keep a runner from scoring from 1st on a double hit into the RF corner. Last, but certainly not least, you want a catcher with a strong arm, somewhere in the 6.5 - 8.5 range. Otherwise base stealers will have a field day with your catcher, and even slow runners will steal a few bags.

Run Speed – This number tells you how fast a player can run and also indicates how much range he has at his position. 1 - 4 is slow, with 1 being a turtle. You don’t want your outfielders with numbers below 4, and then only in LF. CF & RF should be fast, they have a lot of ground to cover and have to get there in a hurry. 6 - 10 is ideal for those positions. This is also ideal for your lead-off hitter. It’s nice to have a lead-off hitter who can steal bases. 2B & SS should be in the 4-7 ranges, especially SS. This means he’ll be able to get to a ball hit deep in the hole quickly, and if he has a good arm, still throw out the runner.

Ab - An indication of how many AB’s were used in determining these numbers. 600 is the norm because a regular everyday player will avg close to 600 AB’s in a 162 game season.

Hits – This is how many hits he’ll avg in those 600 AB’s

2B – The number of doubles he’ll avg

3B – The number of triples he’ll avg

Hr – The number of homeruns he’ll avg

Walks – The number of walks he’ll avg

SO – The number of strike-outs he’ll avg

Avg vs L/Avg vs R – What his BA should be versus left and right handed pitchers

Obp vs L/Obp vs R – What his on base percentage should be versus left and right handed pitchers

Slg vs L/Slg vs R – What his slugging percentage should be versus left and right handed pitchers

0000FF">Pull/Middle/Opp Field – where he hits the ball

Groundball % - The percentage of balls he hits on the ground

For positions, a 1 indicates he is a regular at that position. Some players play more than 1 position. If you see .9 or .62, etc etc, this indicates he can play that position, but is not a regular at that position. The longer a player plays at a certain position, the more his number will move toward 1. Keep in mind these numbers are only updated after the new season button is pushed each year. If you have a RF you played at LF all season but his LF number is at .5 at the end of the season, that’s ok. Look at his number again once you have the new season file and you will see it has increased. A player must play a certain amount of games at a position in order to get an increase. If you put him there for 3 or 4 games only, don’t expect any change.

Infield/Outfield Range – Indicates how much ground he covers. Outfielders should be above 5 and preferably above 7. SS should also have good range. 1B can be low. Same for catcher since he isn’t required to move around or chase after batted balls very often.

Fielding % - This indicates how good he is with his hands. Does he field the ball cleanly or does he drop it a lot and make errors. .985 and up is where you want to be ideally. Above .993 is getting into the very good range, this guy does not make very many fielding errors.

Ab – Same as “Bat” tab, indicates the numbers used to determine the averages.

Hits – Indicates the number of hits he’ll give up. The lower the better with 150 and down being very good. A guy who gives up below 130 will be in the stud range.

2B – Number of doubles he’ll allow

3B – Number of triples he’ll allow

Hr – Number of hone-runs he’ll allow (Below 20 is a good benchmark)

2B, 3B, Hr’s all have a bearing on Slg% allowed. The higher his Slg% allowed, the more of these type hits he’ll give up.

Walks – Number of BB’s he’ll issue

So – Number of K’s he’ll avg

Endurance – This indicates how far into a game he’ll pitch. 5 is a guideline to determine between a starter and reliever. Anything below 5 should be used in relief. 5-6 range is good for long relief and spot starting. From 6 to 8 are ideal for starters, these guys will get you into the late innings. Guys with high 7’s and 8 will give you some complete games.

Delivery – Indicates his pitching style

Groundball % - Indicates the percentage of balls hit off him that will be on the ground versus in the air. (A pitcher who keeps the ball down or ties hitters up inside usually has a high Gbp)

Pitches – Indicates the types of pitches this pitcher has.

Quality – The quality of these pitches

Avg – This indicates what kind of a BA he will allow opposing hitters against that pitch. The lower the number the better. Anything below .250 down to below .200 is an indication of a very good pitcher.

Obp – Indicates the on base percentage he’ll allow against that pitch. Again, low is good. You’d like to stay below the .280 mark ideally.

Slg – Gives an indication of long balls hit off this pitch. High numbers is a guy who gives up a lot of doubles, triples, and homers. (Below .360 is a good benchmark here, with below .330 getting into the very good range)

A few things to mention about pitchers. A guy who has a high Slg% and walks a lot of batters (upward of 90) is going to give up a lot of runs. If you have a lot of these guys you better be able to score a lot.

To get some idea of stud, good, avg, and bad, take a look at and compare the numbers of Pedro Martinez (Stud), Matt Morris (Good to Very Good), Les Brown (Avg to Good) and Dave Lopez (Bad)

Pedro has good numbers all around. Doesn’t give up a lot of hits, homers, dbl’s. His avg, obp, slg against are all very low. His groundball % is above 50.

Mcneil has avg numbers too, hits below .250, decent amount of K's, very few Hr and very few walks.

Brown has a weak arm but walks few, he gives up many extra base hits, and has a rather low ground ball%.

Lopez has good endurance, but gives up alot of hits, many of which being HR and 2B which leads to a high opp slg%.

Remember too, a pitcher that has flaws in one area, such as a lot of walks or hits, can make up for some of that in other areas. If he has a very high groundball %, say 65 – 75, and his defense is sound, guys who make very few errors, then he’ll get out of a lot of jams. The trick is to try and balance all the stats so you come up with a good avg overall. 2 or 3 strong points and the rest around avg will give you a very good pitcher.