Minor League System
An additional note about my minor league system.
I dedicate a lot of resources to signing as many young players to minor league contracts as possible. Therefore, I have not been including transactions that are strictly minor league based. One example of this is that in my 1890-1891 offseason, I signed 14 players to minor league contracts while releasing 10 players who had never played in the Majors for me.
This also explains how players like Barney Gilligan and Edgar Smith ended up back in my organization after I traded them away. I later found them in the free agent list, and they had good enough ratings in at least one category for me to go sign them.
I typically allow my coaches (i.e. the AI) choose the structure of my minor league systems. Some exceptions might include if there was a player who I want to develop a certain position for. This means that all of the lesser players tend to filter down to the A league team's roster. Any player who is over 30 who is on that roster but is not a starter (or does not have a specific bullpen role) gets released.
For signings, I typically look for players that my scouts rate at least a star and a half. I'll also look for defensive prowess or a player who has a very good rating in any of the three main hitting/pitching routing categories. One star players with exceptional defensive ratings are a huge asset. They can be had on the cheap, and they usually provide positive WAR when they are in the lineup.
It usually takes about 10 years from the start of an historic league like this one for me to get my minor league system where I like it to be. I'm not quite there yet, though, as my AAA team doesn't have enough players to field a starting lineup, but I'm getting close.
There are quite a few players who end up making the active roster who were originally minor league free agent signings, but very few of them ever evolve to be good enough to actually start. Typically, the only players who really have a chance to become starters from this group of players are the ones who are good enough defensively that they provide some value in the lineup even if they are batting under .200. These are great players to fall back on when the injury bug hits hard.
I do not use any of these players in trades unless they first appear in a Major League game.
Here is a quick list of the highest rated defensive players, per position, in my organization (only players with higher than 60 rating listed):
C
Charles Snyder 66
Tom Daly 64
Barney Billigan 62
1B
Beldon Hill 67
2B
Edward Santry 73
Lou Bierbauer 70
3B
Joseph Herr 63
SS
Tommy Corcoran 68
Billy Clymer 63
Gus Creely 63
LF
U Wills 80
U Franklin 75
Joseph Herr 74
Duke Farrell 72
Jack Gorman 68
Mike Goodfellow 62
CF
none
RF
Duke Farrell 62
P
Kid Carsey 97
Ed Beatin 86
Nat Hudson 68
Amos Rusie 61
I dedicate a lot of resources to signing as many young players to minor league contracts as possible. Therefore, I have not been including transactions that are strictly minor league based. One example of this is that in my 1890-1891 offseason, I signed 14 players to minor league contracts while releasing 10 players who had never played in the Majors for me.
This also explains how players like Barney Gilligan and Edgar Smith ended up back in my organization after I traded them away. I later found them in the free agent list, and they had good enough ratings in at least one category for me to go sign them.
I typically allow my coaches (i.e. the AI) choose the structure of my minor league systems. Some exceptions might include if there was a player who I want to develop a certain position for. This means that all of the lesser players tend to filter down to the A league team's roster. Any player who is over 30 who is on that roster but is not a starter (or does not have a specific bullpen role) gets released.
For signings, I typically look for players that my scouts rate at least a star and a half. I'll also look for defensive prowess or a player who has a very good rating in any of the three main hitting/pitching routing categories. One star players with exceptional defensive ratings are a huge asset. They can be had on the cheap, and they usually provide positive WAR when they are in the lineup.
It usually takes about 10 years from the start of an historic league like this one for me to get my minor league system where I like it to be. I'm not quite there yet, though, as my AAA team doesn't have enough players to field a starting lineup, but I'm getting close.
There are quite a few players who end up making the active roster who were originally minor league free agent signings, but very few of them ever evolve to be good enough to actually start. Typically, the only players who really have a chance to become starters from this group of players are the ones who are good enough defensively that they provide some value in the lineup even if they are batting under .200. These are great players to fall back on when the injury bug hits hard.
I do not use any of these players in trades unless they first appear in a Major League game.
Here is a quick list of the highest rated defensive players, per position, in my organization (only players with higher than 60 rating listed):
C
Charles Snyder 66
Tom Daly 64
Barney Billigan 62
1B
Beldon Hill 67
2B
Edward Santry 73
Lou Bierbauer 70
3B
Joseph Herr 63
SS
Tommy Corcoran 68
Billy Clymer 63
Gus Creely 63
LF
U Wills 80
U Franklin 75
Joseph Herr 74
Duke Farrell 72
Jack Gorman 68
Mike Goodfellow 62
CF
none
RF
Duke Farrell 62
P
Kid Carsey 97
Ed Beatin 86
Nat Hudson 68
Amos Rusie 61
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