[battists]

Well, one of the first ideas is to look at the Minor League System Report.

Go to your major league team's home page, then Info >> Reports. Then on the right side, pull down the drop-down and find "Minor League System." This report will show you some information about what your coaches think about the players at different levels. Some people prefer to ignore the AI, but if you're feeling overwhelmed, you can start out by following your coaches' suggestions.

Many people have set arbitrary guidelines for stuff like this, like "I need to see a .280 BA over 350 PA at a particular level before I will promote." I personally don't have a specific set of numbers I go by, but for field players, I do tend to look at things like batting average and OBP. If a guy can't hit over .240 in AAA, odds of him hitting competently at the major league level are small, so I won't promote them unless they are like a top-notch defensive asset. I tend to look for a little consistency too. For pitcher's, it's a similar story, although I'll look more at ratios like K/9, BB/9, WHIP, etc.

Overall, I tend to be conservative with my minor leaguers. I tend to review my minor leagues halfway through their season, and unless someone is just dominating the league, I won't promote them mid-season. Then I review again at the end of the season.

I also tend to keep my minors young. Generally, I don't have many players in the minors who are older than 25, with the exception of some AAAA-type players who are my first callups when injuries occur. I apply some broad age ranges in the minors, like:

- No one over 24 in rookie ball/low A
- No one over 25 in high A
- No one over 26 in AA

Stuff like that, although I look at each case individually. If a player is too old for that level, I'll either release them, hang onto them (primarily if I'm short on a particular position, like C sometimes), or look to move them in trade for younger prospects.

Hope this helps!