Question about manually developing top prospects

[GmOfTheYear]

I read somewhere about ootp tips. And one of them was you should shortlist your top prospects and manually develop them. I'm wondering if anyone does this and if so how do they exactly go about it? Do you just keep them at a very low level until they do really well at it and move them up slowly?

[kjb023]

I've never heard of "manually" developing prospects. I always control my minor league promotions and such, moving guys back and forth, is that what you're talking about?

[NoOne]

if you don't want to control every aspect of the mil, this is a good compromise.

you can delegate all the mil stuff and "lock" a few to their level in individual strategies - right click a player and click "game strategies" -- more than one way to get there of course.

you can also "force" them to play a position, which will make them start even if you delegate lineups and depth charts to mil mangers. this is also found in the individual game strategies.

one drawback -- if you don't force start them, they will likely learn more than one position in their mil career, so if you want cross training, you'll have to remember to do that. i typicaly just worry about their primary role i intend to use them, but occasionally force them to start at other postions to cross train them too.

i keep the speedy / multipoistional guys for my bench, so i make sure they can play all the positions they qualify for.

shortlisting them isn't a bad idea either.. this makes a one-stop shop for promotions or reviewing them. you still want to review your non-shortlisted / non-locked players for any surprises - >inaccurate scouting or TCR changes (random changes). if you don't shortlist, they still stand out due to the "#" symbol on rosters and transactions screen and elsewhere. if forced to start, their position shows as red text instead of black text.

some talent may not be clearly displayed by rating for a few years. some talent may be a "lie" the first few years etc etc.. removing guys from my locked shortlist isn't unusual either.

if they are worthwhile to my team or as an asset to trade, i control their development process -- as far as promotions and making sure they start. nothing you can do about whether or not they develop, of course.

[polydamas]

I like to control my minors down to the depth chart. I have had too many issues to give up control.

To develop I like to have 100 AB at a level before moving up or down to start the season barring injury. Then, if I promote, I give at least 40 ABs before deciding whether or not to keep them at that level. I'd rather a guy hit really well in A then suck in AA.


The criteria for hitting well would be a wRC+ of 115 or better. I feel like a 15-20 point drop is to be expected between levels.

As for knowing when to send down, I'll usually strongly consider anyone below 75 wRC+.


I'm no expert though. I've had tonnes of busts in my years as GM.


Edit: Sometimes guys stagnate and get angry and I have to consider the morale aspect into the equation. If the scout's rating is fair enough, I'll send the guy up and test him out. If not, I trade him.

Also, I rotate starters in my depth chart quite a bit. Everybody gets a good number of at-bats.

I also send my best prospects that are willing to the winter league I set up for some extra development.

[GmOfTheYear]

Originally Posted by polydamas

I also send my best prospects that are willing to the winter league I set up for some extra development.

How do you create a winter league? I see options to add a minor league. Do I just edit the schedule?

[polydamas]

Originally Posted by GmOfTheYear

How do you create a winter league? I see options to add a minor league. Do I just edit the schedule?

It's under add a tournament. Personally I have the season start Nov 1 and end right before Spring Training. It's 80 games in 80 days.

[NoOne]

anotehr compromise if you like winning environments:

control the promotions (depth if you want) and only advance guys due to service time and nothing else.. like 1-2 years at each level or whatever works etc... then the guys you lock can move freely regardless of service time and dependent on development.

a 1/2 scale guy isn't going anywhere fast... they will never be more than a borderline player. if they stagnate, who cares? the beneift is they tend to be well-rated at each level due to the slow pace of promotions... = winning teams.

my rookie league had a 22-year streak of best regular season record, lol, i bet that wasn't even the longest i've had, just the one i noticed recently. it's not as consistent at upper levels, but >.500 every year is easy to maintain at AAA... few down years of course.. .but consitent success can be expected over the long-term.

as far as minimum ab before you promote -- definiteyl good to see what happens.. i wouldn't be too strict on it though as far as.. you see huge ratings increases and fewer than 100AB... if they are ready to move up, move them up..

age is a caveat.. sometimes, but not always, age will cause them to perform very badly at an upper level if too young even if ratings match.

e.g. 2 18 year olds with ~50 contact, immediately. can and does happen and it's just pure awesomeness when you find one.

in this case one may perform well as you zoom them up the ladder.. 1 may falter at some point... in my experience, if they falter you ignore ratings and leave them a thte level where they are ~near basleline results. when i say falter i mean like a ~50-70ish ops+ or severely negative war.. not familiar with wrc but a similar line can be drawn for that one too.

outisd eof age, you should really place them where their ratings and development dictate. heck, even if they falter and i see huge increases in ratings, i still keep them at that level.. only when ratings stagnate do i concern myself with where they should be due to factors outside of ratings/increase of ratings.

Originally Posted by polydamas

I like to control my minors down to the depth chart. I have had too many issues to give up control.

To develop I like to have 100 AB at a level before moving up or down to start the season barring injury. Then, if I promote, I give at least 40 ABs before deciding whether or not to keep them at that level. I'd rather a guy hit really well in A then suck in AA.


The criteria for hitting well would be a wRC+ of 115 or better. I feel like a 15-20 point drop is to be expected between levels.

As for knowing when to send down, I'll usually strongly consider anyone below 75 wRC+.


I'm no expert though. I've had tonnes of busts in my years as GM.


Edit: Sometimes guys stagnate and get angry and I have to consider the morale aspect into the equation. If the scout's rating is fair enough, I'll send the guy up and test him out. If not, I trade him.

Also, I rotate starters in my depth chart quite a bit. Everybody gets a good number of at-bats.

I also send my best prospects that are willing to the winter league I set up for some extra development.