Minor Leagues: How many players needed?

douga · 06-25-2005, 03:33 PM

I have heard talk of the people having very limited number of players on their minor league teams. Down to 12 per team?

Does this mean that minor leaguers do not get injured / tired / need to miss games?

canadiancreed · 06-25-2005, 04:06 PM

myself i have roughly five players in the minors, but i have minor league stats off so that coudl help

Steve Kuffrey · 06-25-2005, 04:20 PM

They do get tired, injured, etc but the game is designed so that "average" ghost players fill in when there is no minor leaguer to fill a spot or you have few minor league players.

andjbock · 06-25-2005, 04:31 PM

Too many players make it hard for players to develop as well.

Steve Kuffrey · 06-25-2005, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andjbock

Too many players make it hard for players to develop as well.

True, probably somewhere between 18-25 per level I'd say would work best.

Vris · 06-25-2005, 04:52 PM

Even less, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. A solid, deep bullpen is fine, but you don't want too many batters/fielders because that takes time away from the players you want to develop.

mlyons · 06-25-2005, 05:26 PM

The more players you have, however, the more likely someone's going to get a talent boost. Quite a few times I've had guys I've kept on my A or AA roster as "backups" go through a talent boost and end up as productive major leaguers. If I kept my minor league rosters down to just the "sure things", those guys would have been cut long before they became productive. As long as your top prospects are getting 400-500 ABs (or 175-225 IP) per season and not being blocked from moving up through your system, there's no harm in keeping 20-25 players at each level.

douga · 06-26-2005, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyons

The more players you have, however, the more likely someone's going to get a talent boost. Quite a few times I've had guys I've kept on my A or AA roster as "backups" go through a talent boost and end up as productive major leaguers.

Right, that was the kind of thing I was thinking. Since talk is that knowing who your prospects truly are is difficult and that non-prospects can suddenly bloom, I would hate to cut anyone from the roster (especially down to 5 players as the one player has) who might turn out to be a major leaguer.

Since Steve clarified that minor leaguers do get tired, wouldn't it probably HURT their chances at improving if they play tired and see their productivity decrease. i.e. I wonder when the AI puts a ghost plater in for a tired player in the minors?

kq76 · 06-26-2005, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlyons

The more players you have, however, the more likely someone's going to get a talent boost. Quite a few times I've had guys I've kept on my A or AA roster as "backups" go through a talent boost and end up as productive major leaguers. If I kept my minor league rosters down to just the "sure things", those guys would have been cut long before they became productive. As long as your top prospects are getting 400-500 ABs (or 175-225 IP) per season and not being blocked from moving up through your system, there's no harm in keeping 20-25 players at each level.

I always have to scratch my head when I see GMs releasing young prospects when they have few prospects in their system. I imagine they're just neat freaks or something and like to have as little clutter as possible even if it hurts them.

jbmagic · 06-26-2005, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andjbock

Too many players make it hard for players to develop as well.

why do they have fill minors league button for it, if that the case?

andjbock · 06-26-2005, 04:17 PM

Becuase after an initial draft there are usually plenty of vacancies if you only do a 50-60 round intial draft.

disposableheros · 06-26-2005, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kq76

I always have to scratch my head when I see GMs releasing young prospects when they have few prospects in their system. I imagine they're just neat freaks or something and like to have as little clutter as possible even if it hurts them.

quit looking at my minors

really, i just dont see enough 3/5/2/3/5 (1 blue *) guys to into usable players. i find i can get the same level of talent in the FA pool if a serious need arises. so, id rather just have few guys in my minors to keep it neat and clean.

mgsports · 06-26-2005, 07:43 PM

Sometimes after the College Draft is over teams will release Pitchers that allready have experence! Ilike it when the team I watch but do the Rule 5 Draft and College Draft Minor League teams rosters are filled up like to 25!

ihatenames · 06-26-2005, 07:52 PM

i try to keep 15-25 people at each level. But i won't sign people just to keep that level. My A-ball usually has the most. AA usually the least. AAA usually has a mix of prospects and has beens or career minor leaguers a talent boost away from the show.

jdalo · 06-26-2005, 11:49 PM

keep 30 or 35 players at each level if you want just make sure you play the ones that are most important to you.

jazzrack · 06-27-2005, 12:08 AM

I prefer 10 hitters & 10 pitchers at each level, everybody gets plenty of PT.

blackrussian · 06-27-2005, 12:13 AM

i usually try to have one player to start each position in the minors, plus a DH. i also go with a full 10 man pitching staff. i frequently had to sign scrubs to fill in various positions after the initial draft, since there arent enough quality prospects to cover all of the minor lg slots. 19-20 players is typical.

you may want to avoid doing the 'fill minors with fictional players' option as it often creates too many players in everyone's system and it really clogs things up unnecessarily, in terms of 1-star players taking up a lot of space. instead, after the initial draft, i 'fill AA with fictional players' to come up with a decent initial group of minor leaguers, filling in the rest of the system with signings from the free agents left over from the initial draft.

kq76 · 06-27-2005, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disposableheros

quit looking at my minors

really, i just dont see enough 3/5/2/3/5 (1 blue *) guys to into usable players. i find i can get the same level of talent in the FA pool if a serious need arises. so, id rather just have few guys in my minors to keep it neat and clean.

I don't bother remembering who does it.

I'll admit, it happens rarely, but it does happen. And it happens more often the less rounds you have in your draft. The latest guy I let go that I regret is Joel Lebel in the CBL, a 5th rd pick in a 5 rd draft. I don't recall exactly what his talents were when I traded him, but I know I wouldn't have traded him if he was even close to what he has now. With that 8 contact talent and 6 ability at 24 with 4s otherwise he has a decent chance at being a very cheap starter. Now it so happens that my team is very deep in the majors and should be for quite awhile, but my 2 1B are nearing the ends of their careers and if Joel was still in my system he might actually have become a starter for us next season. And my team is going to need to watch pennies if it wants to keep our good young guys, so he would have looked even better at the minimum. The worst part is he was part of the 3 in a 3 for 1 trade I made (I had way too many prospects at the time, maybe 30 or more guys that needed to be in A, so I offered 3 for 1s to organizations that were not good at the time) and the guy I got in return has had like no development whatsoever. But at least I had an excuse, I had so many players that he probably wouldn't have developed had I kept him. Some teams don't have that excuse. Is it a big deal? No, it's just a game, but...

06-25-2005, 03:33 PM	#1
douga Minors (Single A) Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 82	Minor Leagues: How many players needed? I have heard talk of the people having very limited number of players on their minor league teams. Down to 12 per team? Does this mean that minor leaguers do not get injured / tired / need to miss games?

06-25-2005, 04:06 PM	#2
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	myself i have roughly five players in the minors, but i have minor league stats off so that coudl help __________________ PT21 PT22

06-25-2005, 04:20 PM	#3
Steve Kuffrey Administrator Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: S.E. TN - Georgia born and raised Posts: 17,036	They do get tired, injured, etc but the game is designed so that "average" ghost players fill in when there is no minor leaguer to fill a spot or you have few minor league players. __________________ Steve Kuffrey DABS Atlanta Braves - 2008 Eastern Division Champ *DBLC Atlanta Braves - 2011, 2014 East Division Champ, 2012, 2013 NL Wildcard Baseball Maelstrom-Montreal Expos-2013 Tourney winner, 2014 WC Team Sparky's League - Tampa Bay D'Rays Epicenter Baseball League - Astros 2014 The CBL Rewind - Phillies '95

06-25-2005, 04:52 PM	#6
Vris Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: somewhere where I don't know where I am Posts: 3,251	Even less, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. A solid, deep bullpen is fine, but you don't want too many batters/fielders because that takes time away from the players you want to develop. __________________ None Blog it.

06-25-2005, 05:26 PM	#7
mlyons Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 3,725	The more players you have, however, the more likely someone's going to get a talent boost. Quite a few times I've had guys I've kept on my A or AA roster as "backups" go through a talent boost and end up as productive major leaguers. If I kept my minor league rosters down to just the "sure things", those guys would have been cut long before they became productive. As long as your top prospects are getting 400-500 ABs (or 175-225 IP) per season and not being blocked from moving up through your system, there's no harm in keeping 20-25 players at each level. __________________ Things can always be worse.

06-25-2005, 04:31 PM	#4
andjbock Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Somerville, MA, USA Bats: Right Throws: Left Posts: 3,640	Too many players make it hard for players to develop as well.

06-26-2005, 04:17 PM	#11
andjbock Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Somerville, MA, USA Bats: Right Throws: Left Posts: 3,640	Becuase after an initial draft there are usually plenty of vacancies if you only do a 50-60 round intial draft.

06-26-2005, 07:43 PM	#13
mgsports Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 159	Sometimes after the College Draft is over teams will release Pitchers that allready have experence! Ilike it when the team I watch but do the Rule 5 Draft and College Draft Minor League teams rosters are filled up like to 25!

06-26-2005, 07:52 PM	#14
ihatenames Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rockford Posts: 2,534	i try to keep 15-25 people at each level. But i won't sign people just to keep that level. My A-ball usually has the most. AA usually the least. AAA usually has a mix of prospects and has beens or career minor leaguers a talent boost away from the show. __________________ New Album coming soon!

06-26-2005, 11:49 PM	#15
jdalo Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 52	keep 30 or 35 players at each level if you want just make sure you play the ones that are most important to you.

06-27-2005, 12:08 AM	#16
jazzrack Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: still kicking Posts: 3,229	I prefer 10 hitters & 10 pitchers at each level, everybody gets plenty of PT. __________________ . "Never confuse composure for ease" Was once Head Cheese of Corporate League Baseball

06-27-2005, 12:13 AM	#17
blackrussian All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 954	i usually try to have one player to start each position in the minors, plus a DH. i also go with a full 10 man pitching staff. i frequently had to sign scrubs to fill in various positions after the initial draft, since there arent enough quality prospects to cover all of the minor lg slots. 19-20 players is typical. you may want to avoid doing the 'fill minors with fictional players' option as it often creates too many players in everyone's system and it really clogs things up unnecessarily, in terms of 1-star players taking up a lot of space. instead, after the initial draft, i 'fill AA with fictional players' to come up with a decent initial group of minor leaguers, filling in the rest of the system with signings from the free agents left over from the initial draft.