40 Man Roster & Prospect Development Questions

[brezzab]

Hi all,

New to the OOTP series and loving OOTP18 so far, even though I haven't watched baseball in a while.

In my first season with the Rockies, I've managed to stuff up and now have 37 players on the 40 man roster, not realising that you have to designate them to remove them from this roster.

What are some of the strategies you would suggest to manage my 40-man roster in my games going forward? A half-dozen prospect call-ups in September? How many and who do you tend to add to the expanded rosters?

In regards to prospect development, I've read NoOne's guide but have some question regarding how all of you differ in your prospect management:
1. Do you lock prospects you truly care about and automate the rest of the minor lineups? How many do you lock?
2. Do you keep them in a specific level for an entire season or move them up/down a lot?
3. Do you purposely keep them in AAA just a little bit longer so you can call-up a number of good rookies at the same time?
4. How do you time their team control?

Thanks everyone!

[TGH-Adfabre]

1. Do you lock prospects you truly care about and automate the rest of the minor lineups? How many do you lock?
I do that, some players here will manage every aspect of their minors. I lock position and league level for any player I think has the potential to be in the ML.

2. Do you keep them in a specific level for an entire season or move them up/down a lot?

I do not move them up and down a lot. The real reason is that I do not play stats only and I very rarely play with scouting. I almost always know the correct ratings of the players. If a player has stats that seem above or below their ratings I do not care. I promote and demote based on ratings.


3. Do you purposely keep them in AAA just a little bit longer so you can call-up a number of good rookies at the same time?

No, I sometimes keep them purposely in AAA to milk 2-3 months of their first season and get more games before they hit arbitration and free agency.


4. How do you time their team control?

I try to call up between mid June and early July unless they are better than my ML player and I need them now. Then I just get them on the ML roster.

[NoOne]

only add to the 40-man, if it is a forced move.. e.g. before they become a mil FA or if they are ready to move up to MLB for any reason you wish. time is a currency, don't waste it... saving it is almost always good idea, if the player is not going to be used much.

more likey, the decision will be about keeping a guy who's about to go to the Rule 5 draft. 3 years... don't waste them before they are a mil FA.

delaying a call up can delay more expensive arbitation contracts by 1 year... the way i manage my player turnover, it's inconsequential to me... but maybe not to you. it has real benefits, but i will likely sign an extension with any player i like for the long-term plan of my team... even if it doesn't result in a net cheaper $$$ over that time. extension before arbitration? sure! i'll sign that 21 year old to a 10 year contract and likely never worry about him decrapitating on me. the way i manage my money allows this sort of discretion. timing when players leave is worth more than a few million dollars spread out over the initial years. the benefit i realize from avoiding aging far outweighs the minimal cost.

So, you don't want to start that clock until you absolutely have to. i don't worry about timing as far as when i promote to MLB, much...... it's more about team need. if they are ~mlb quality or ... i will clear out that vet ahead of them before opening day or fill that open hole during offseason, so that they are on 25-man roster and recieving that 'flavor' of development and any other natural forces that work on players.

if i don't like them for my team long-term, i'm going year-to-year with a huge grin on my face paying them peanuts and knowing i will get some nice prospects when i trade them, because they are young and developed.

more timing: if they are intested in an extension during Arbitration and for how long... i may spend a bit mre money by signing them a too early to an extension, but i can better control when they leave my team and at what age.... delaying an extension is a bit risky, too... if they are open to it this year, it doesn't mean they are open to it next year.

have i kept a guy on the bench or in AAA because i eked 1 more year out of an older vet? sure have, but not the norm for me. i can't typicalyl get as much for the vet or they are simply leaving as a FA in that situation, normally. if i am proactive and get rid of him to clear room for the prospect, it's generally a better return from that trade. if FA compensation is likely greater than the likely return with a trade package that includes that Vet, then i will consider just letting them leave in FA, and eke that last year out of them.

Development is all that matters as far IF they can be promoted...

other factors may cause you to delay it and thre may be very good reasons to do so.... but any delay in promotion is a bit of a risk, if well-developed (high current ability relative to AAA) and you keep them in AAA for a year. I think it's an elevated chance they drop a bit in talent over the course of that extra year... (it's not gauranteed, of course). this only applies to a player thats way too good for AAA, not a replacement level MLB player... they can simmer until they retire, lol.

you want to avoid players being overmatched or undermatched at any MiL level. this is my basis for the last paragrahp. if they are a middling MLB player, no big deal.. if they are all-star quality current ability, it's a big deal!

i lock the players i believe have a shot at making the MLB as regulars -- ie have some sort of trade value even if i don't intend to use on my team... if you need to dig deeper, include more.... the more you control the better off they are. go with what works for how you play... if too many slim it down. lately, i actually control the entire MiL... but the lesser players are all about results, not development. they provide wins and a happy environment, i hope. i don't lock them... the lock in this situaion is just for optics -- i see them easily in Rosters and Transaction with all MiL rosters visible.

Have 2 classifications -- ones you care about, ones you don't... ones you care about you will promote at anytime they are deserving... the ones you don't: well they provid wins and happiness.. .and likely never to play in MLB so who cares about them? (if TCR hits or inaccurate scouting -- you simply change you rmind about that player and add to correct category of how you control them.

development is a random force that trends in a specific direcion most of the time until it reaches potential (and not old!), but also influenced by the individuals personality and other ratings. at this point i don't even think playing time in the MiL is weighted very heavily, if at all (i think combo of age and playing time does matter in MLB?). the majority of it is simply whether thay are on an active roster and what level that roster is. injuries slow down development because they are off an active roster.

results DEFINTELY should not cause ratings to change (a law of logic, not conjecture). the vidoe game may include a small boost due to good results, though very small if so. i've seen too many poorly performing MiL players develop lighning fast and fully that it cannot be a strong force if it does exist.

had a .200 career mil player get ~4000hits and first ballot hof... and that's not unusual for me with prospects.. .it's not jsut anecdotal, it's common occurance easily noticed with the eye. Bad MiL stats are the norm for my better prospects, lol... or at least fairly common nearing 50/50. i don't care what rules you play by, 120-130 should be reachable... making playofs ~every year should be possible. if not, it's due to choices made, not the game.

when i call them up it is all about Function and Use.... are they better? then, call them up. it's not a decision i often make midseason, but if a player develops early and suprisingly fast in the season, i will try to trade the MLB player ahead of them so i can make room.

don't worry about stuff that isn't in the game. calling up 5 rookies instead of 1 doesn't have any effect whatsoever. ratings are all that define the player. you can deduce from there, but don't add to it.

e.g. development: if personality is off, all players essentially have a "100/200" for all personality ratings. ignoring all other factors -- development shuold stick closer to a baseline with less volatility throughout the league.... turn personality on, and now some players are 0-200 for various ratings... now they move "faster" or "slower" to baseline devlopment, too.... but again this is a change in probability, not a gaurantee.

so if it's a 2% change to increase ... maybe "0\200" is a 1% and a "200/200" is a 3%... that type of idea. it's merely another layer of influence... another layer of modeling something that affects results. a mutually exclusive force that is applied.. (if you've taken a physics, it is a great parralel in how to think and approach ootp or any other game)