[Forza]

Originally Posted by frangipard

FYI - Baseball America just released their 2015 rankings. John Sickels did, too.

The Cubs, Dodgers and Red Sox are just absurdly loaded with prospects right now, many of them high-level (AA/AAA). But the latter two are hardly "middling" teams; they're both also contenders at the ML level and expect to win now.

Agree with Astros and Twins. Braves in the NL.

Thanks for the tip, I've checked both out.

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Do a search on "the Cardinal way" to find an organization that has thrived on developing young players.

Interesting stuff. This is the kind of thing I'm looking for. Do you know of any books or blogs that go more in depth about the Cardinal way?

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

In your Manager's Office under Control & Auto-Play Settings you can select the option "Cannot be Fired." I will do this sometimes if I take over a struggling club with the rationalization that "everyone at the club understands" we're entering a long rebuild process. Then after I've had 5 years or so to build the system up (implement "my vision") I remove that option and see if I can be successful with the new crop of players.

For some reason I'm reluctant to use this just because I think it will ruin the immersion for me. What kind of timescale do you put on a rebuilding?

Originally Posted by Questdog

I nearly always depend 95% on my farm system for talent. The only free agents I will pursue are because I have no alternative from my farm system. I do not make trades either, if I can help it. When I do, it is usually just to find a home for a player that I cannot use.

To build a team exclusively with the farm system takes a lot of effort. Not only do you have to identify the best talent in the draft, but you have to make sure that you have a steady supply of talent at all positions. Spending your #1 pick on a catcher for 3 years in a row might insure that you will have a good catcher in the future, but it will also insure that you are substandard everywhere else.

I draft on a ten year plan. I have ten draft "patterns" that I rotate each season. They are plans on what positions to pick in what rounds. Thus, in every 10-year span all of the positions have been everywhere in the draft and this helps keep my stream of talent even across the board.

However, I do not stick rigidly to the scheme. If there is a player that is clearly superior to any in the position I desire to pick, I will pick the superior player and make adjustments in the future lists to compensate.

The idea of an organised 10 year plan is really interesting to me. Do you use any external tricks (spreadsheets etc) to keep track of what you're doing or is it all just in your head?

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When looking for and signing prospects for the farm system how much emphasis should I be placing on the draft system and how much on looking for young and cheap international players. Is one preferable to the other or should I look for a mix?