Rookie Eligibility and Prospect Status Questions

[jpeters1734]

How do you know when a player will no longer be in the prospect category or have rookie eligibility??

I know IRL it's based on service days and game appearances. But in my league, I don't use a 162 game schedule and I have have a different number of service days for a year.

Is there a way to calculate it?

[garry1221]

1 year of service time is accrued 172 days. A season is 187 days. This comes out to approx 92% of the year. If you want real-ish time frames, I'd go as low as 90% of the year. I'd use this as a service time baseline.

Rookie eligibility is defined as 130 AB, 50 IP, or 45 days on the active roster. 130 AB is 33 - 44 full games started and not subbed out. (I est. 3-4 AB/game)
Rookie eligible math:
Tweak the math as needed, but here goes:
Days Active: Season length (days) * .24 = X
ABs: X * 2.89 = y
IP: # of games(not days) * .31 = z
Based on RL:
Days: 45/187 = 0.2406
ABs: 45(days) * 2.89 = 130.05
IP: 50/162 = 0.3086

When will a player lose prospect status? I'd use rookie eligibility or 26/27 yrs old, whichever comes 1st. While technically prospects, if a player plateaus developmentally before reaching the bigs and is in his later 20s, he becomes another minor leaguer who couldnt cut it. I almost said 25 years, but I'm giving college kids a good 3 or 4 years before giving up on them.

[MathBandit]

Originally Posted by garry1221

1 year of service time is accrued 172 days. A season is 187 days. This comes out to approx 92% of the year. If you want real-ish time frames, I'd go as low as 90% of the year. I'd use this as a service time baseline.

Rookie eligibility is defined as 130 AB, 50 IP, or 45 days on the active roster. 130 AB is 33 - 44 full games started and not subbed out. (I est. 3-4 AB/game)
Rookie eligible math:
Tweak the math as needed, but here goes:
Days Active: Season length (days) * .24 = X
ABs: X * 2.89 = y
IP: # of games(not days) * .31 = z
Based on RL:
Days: 45/187 = 0.2406
ABs: 45(days) * 2.89 = 130.05
IP: 50/162 = 0.3086

When will a player lose prospect status? I'd use rookie eligibility or 26/27 yrs old, whichever comes 1st. While technically prospects, if a player plateaus developmentally before reaching the bigs and is in his later 20s, he becomes another minor leaguer who couldnt cut it. I almost said 25 years, but I'm giving college kids a good 3 or 4 years before giving up on them.

I think what he's asking is how the *game* decides rookie/prospect status, in a league that doesn't have 162 games or 187-day seasons.

[snepp]

I've run a lot of fictional leagues with varying schedule lengths, but I've never bothered to pay attention to the actual rookie cutoff. I always just assumed that it was prorated off a full 162 game schedule and went on my way.

[Pelican]

I use 32 days of service time. A month plus a day. It eliminates manipulation of rosters to forestall arbitration and free agency by a year.

[KRSW]

OOTPD is always short on explanations.

[Le Grande Orange]

MLB rookie eligibility in real-life according to MLB.com:

A player shall be considered a rookie unless he has exceeded any of the following thresholds in a previous season (or seasons):

• 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues.
• 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).

A player must have rookie eligibility to be considered for any MLB rookie awards -- such as the American League or National League Rookie of the Year Award -- or appear on any MLB Pipeline prospect lists.

Originally Posted by garry1221

1 year of service time is accrued 172 days. A season is 187 days. This comes out to approx 92% of the year.

in real life the 172 days for a year of service appears to be more connected to U.S. labor laws than any reference to the length of the major league season. Back in the 16-team MLB days, when a season was only 168 days long, partial years of service were still calculated at a 172 days to a season rate.