An Un-Official Guide to Minor League Management

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by mmarra82

Thank you for the time you put into this and for sharing, especially the PDF.

I have printed this out this morning and look forward to reading and spending time later on it.

I have been handling my minors as little as possible, simply focus on a few of my top prospects and then let the AI handle things. Reason, I never seem to get through a few seasons before hitting restart. This now gives me a different focus for the game to develop the system as a whole instead of focusing on the MLB portion.

Thanks again.

Thanks, I'm glad to help. I hope you find that being more involved in every level of your game that you will become more attached to your file. Please do share any experiences or differing opinions as you progress. Just remember that there is no "right" way to do things

[mmarra82]

OK, so to try and understand the make up of the minors:

International - players under 18 who are foreign, self explanatory.

From there some clarity would be appreciated,

DSL, these are summer leagues played in the Dominican. Who should make up these teams? 18 year old players just drafted, international players 18 or younger and previous drafted players with little playing time?

R - Is this rookie advanced? For 2nd year players drafted out of HS, and not ready for A ball. Perhaps for advanced HS Draftees and 19 y/o JUCO players.

Then I'm OK, trying to understand the lower levels.

Thanks,
mike

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by mmarra82

OK, so to try and understand the make up of the minors:

International - players under 18 who are foreign, self explanatory.

From there some clarity would be appreciated,

DSL, these are summer leagues played in the Dominican. Who should make up these teams? 18 year old players just drafted, international players 18 or younger and previous drafted players with little playing time?

R - Is this rookie advanced? For 2nd year players drafted out of HS, and not ready for A ball. Perhaps for advanced HS Draftees and 19 y/o JUCO players.

Then I'm OK, trying to understand the lower levels.

Thanks,
mike

In the game, there are a few different rookie leagues, DSL, Complex Rookie, and Rookie Advanced. Complex Rookie leagues are the GCL and AZL. Advanced Rookie leagues are the Pioneer and Appy Leagues.

I actually delete the DSL from my games because only a tiny percentage of players get past DSL. But I should have spelled that out.

Consider complex rookie the same as the DSL. The DSL is for players that are not draft eligible and are at the Rookie level, i.e. 18 or 19. Basically players should be promoted from the Int Complex to the DSL unless they are good enough to start stateside right away.

Complex rookie is for players just drafted and Advanced rookie is for 2nd year pros out of high school, so your 19 and 20 year olds, and players graduating from the DSL.

[jpeters1734]

Honestly, wikipedia also does an excellent job of spelling it out
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_League_Baseball

[mmarra82]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

In the game, there are a few different rookie leagues, DSL, Complex Rookie, and Rookie Advanced. Complex Rookie leagues are the GCL and AZL. Advanced Rookie leagues are the Pioneer and Appy Leagues.

I actually delete the DSL from my games because only a tiny percentage of players get past DSL. But I should have spelled that out.

Consider complex rookie the same as the DSL. The DSL is for players that are not draft eligible and are at the Rookie level, i.e. 18 or 19. Basically players should be promoted from the Int Complex to the DSL unless they are good enough to start stateside right away.

Complex rookie is for players just drafted and Advanced rookie is for 2nd year pros out of high school, so your 19 and 20 year olds, and players graduating from the DSL.

So, the DSL and GCL are hanging me up. Have the Tampa franchise going, if the DSL are for those that are not drafted only signed international players 18 or over, appears tough to field two teams here with international players.

Those drafted go to GCL?

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by mmarra82

So, the DSL and GCL are hanging me up. Have the Tampa franchise going, if the DSL are for those that are not drafted only signed international players 18 or over, appears tough to field two teams here with international players.

Those drafted go to GCL?

Yes, the DSL is for international players that are 18-20ish. 16-17 year old are usually fine to play here normally if they are a little more advanced. The GCL Rays are for your newly drafted high schoolers. Princeton Rays are for 2nd year pros out of high school plus a few players that previously played in the DSL. 19 or 20 year old Juco draftees and late round college picks can play here also.

Tampa is a good example of why I just delete the DSL. You almost have to immediately promote everyone that comes through the int complex to the DSL just to have enough players for 2 teams. Or have a lot of players repeat the league multiple times just for filler players.

[ALB123]

This is an old (2013) article. And, it's not official in any way, shape or form. Even so, I read the article and I have found myself peeking at the chart a handful of times. I liked some things that the author was proposing and perhaps some have been implemented, I have no clue, especially since it's from 2013. Get that salt shaker ready!

https://sabr.org/research/truth-mino...ication-minors

Once again, I thank you for putting your suggestions into a PDF, jpeters1734. I literally, just performed some house cleaning on my two lowest class teams. Until I have my own roadmap figured out, it's helpful to peek at your various roadmaps, which is exactly what I did. It's helped me in developing my own quasi-plan.

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by ALB123

This is an old (2013) article. And, it's not official in any way, shape or form. Even so, I read the article and I have found myself peeking at the chart a handful of times. I liked some things that the author was proposing and perhaps some have been implemented, I have no clue, especially since it's from 2013. Get that salt shaker ready!

https://sabr.org/research/truth-mino...ication-minors

Once again, I thank you for putting your suggestions into a PDF, jpeters1734. I literally, just performed some house cleaning on my two lowest class teams. Until I have this burned into my memory, it's helpful to peek at your various roadmaps, which is exactly what I did. It's helped me in developing my own quasi-plan.

Oh yeah, no problem! Big thanks for that link. I haven't read it yet but it looks right up my alley!

[mmarra82]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

Oh yeah, no problem! Big thanks for that link. I haven't read it yet but it looks right up my alley!

Thanks for all the info...will take it from here...i think. lol

[mmarra82]

Quick question...re-aligned all my minor league teams here in mid-April based on your guide. As of now my A-, R, GCL rosters are incomplete. I assume that is ok now till the draft comes and you can maneuver things around to have rosters ready for their opening days in June?

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by mmarra82

Quick question...re-aligned all my minor league teams here in mid-April based on your guide. As of now my A-, R, GCL rosters are incomplete. I assume that is ok now till the draft comes and you can maneuver things around to have rosters ready for their opening days in June?

Yep, Short season leagues are completely fine being incomplete while in their offseason. The draft will get them filled up for you.

[chucksabr]

I have a player on my AAA team who just went down with an ACL injury so he's gone for the rest of the season, at least. Problem is, he is on my 40-man roster. Unlike with a major leaguer, I can't just put him on the 60-day IL and move him off the 40-man. My choices appear to be waive him, DFA him, or release him, taking a big chance that another team will simply pick him up.

What's the best way for me to handle this? I need the 40-man slot for someone else but I don't want to lose injured guy. Is there a way out of this?

How do they handle this in IRL baseball?

[andyhdz]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

Notes:
If anyone has any suggestions, questions, or comments about this guide, please share them so that we can continue to refine this for new members. It doesn’t have to be just my word for it.

My only critique is that youre using the dfa as a quasi reserve roster which in real life would have the union after you.

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

I have a player on my AAA team who just went down with an ACL injury so he's gone for the rest of the season, at least. Problem is, he is on my 40-man roster. Unlike with a major leaguer, I can't just put him on the 60-day IL and move him off the 40-man. My choices appear to be waive him, DFA him, or release him, taking a big chance that another team will simply pick him up.

What's the best way for me to handle this? I need the 40-man slot for someone else but I don't want to lose injured guy. Is there a way out of this?

How do they handle this in IRL baseball?

I'm a little confused. Why can't you place him on the 60-day injured list? The 60-day is designed to open a spot on the 40-man roster

Originally Posted by andyhdz

My only critique is that youre using the dfa as a quasi reserve roster which in real life would have the union after you.

Oh absolutely. I kind of wrote that with the mind that I'll have 25 man active roster limits. Where in reality, A+ and A can have up to 10 players in reserves

[Scottiedog43]

Good job

[moore4807]

I've always thought similarly to you and the only points I can think of (and NOT say you are wrong in ANY way)

1) I typically use historical starts and the minors are bloated, I agree - however my "National Holiday" is just before the draft, thinning out the herd is literally no different by using either date as far as the lowest three leagues are concerned. I also keep all the teams unlike you - but it doesn't cost anything at that point to my $$$.

2) My "way" of thinning the herd might be a tad quicker and I offer it only as a alternative start. Intl League has any player 18 or older is either pushed up to the lowest level minor team (DSL/ASL) or released. Then for your Dominican and Arizona leagues - sort your team by age, ANYONE over the age of 22 or older probably needs to go for the same reason as you give - the clear majority aren't gonna be MLB quality and most players have no stats at that level and age - cannon fodder at best!

3) I add one year to every level starting at A (23) as my "cut line" - I especially abhor middling older players at AA/A while those youngsters sit at lower levels. I only caution that there is every so often that overage player is blocked at the lower level, then I usually will start nosing around my "shop player" and see what prospect I can get for him.

4) AAA is the magical soup pot of baseball, you can find a little bit of everything if you look hard enough I usually use age as my barometer for AAA - can I trade a 30 yr old reserve for a 25 yr old with some upside? Can I swap my pitching needs with an "extra" position player?

5) I'm also a fan of trying to get bottom feeding teams to do 2-1 or 3-1 deals to ease my congestion at a position. I get rid of players that aren't going to push out my starter/backup and by giving 2-3 players and getting one of their 2.5 or 3 star prospects I open my 40 man roster spots and $$$ by having a 21-25 y/o prospect. Most deals are roundly criticized by the AI Asst. GM, but I find they usually work out for my plans.

[moore4807]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

I have a player on my AAA team who just went down with an ACL injury so he's gone for the rest of the season, at least. Problem is, he is on my 40-man roster. Unlike with a major leaguer, I can't just put him on the 60-day IL and move him off the 40-man. My choices appear to be waive him, DFA him, or release him, taking a big chance that another team will simply pick him up.

What's the best way for me to handle this? I need the 40-man slot for someone else but I don't want to lose injured guy. Is there a way out of this?

How do they handle this in IRL baseball?

In OOTP that I've found - ANY player who gets put on the 60 day IR is automatically removed from the 40 man roster, regardless what level of minors they are in.

I don't know of any "switch" in the settings that lets you change that.

IRL MLB baseball - I think you also have to remove (LTIR) the player from your 40 man roster too. Its likely a contractual thing to keep the Jeffry Loria's from cheaping out on paying 40 players... Oh Wait.. he's gone...

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by moore4807

In OOTP that I've found - ANY player who gets put on the 60 day IR is automatically removed from the 40 man roster, regardless what level of minors they are in.

I don't know of any "switch" in the settings that lets you change that.

IRL MLB baseball - I think you also have to remove (LTIR) the player from your 40 man roster too. Its likely a contractual thing to keep the Jeffry Loria's from cheaping out on paying 40 players... Oh Wait.. he's gone...

I don't know if this is different because I'm in a historical sim (currently in 1987) but every injury in my minor leagues is only able to go on the 10-Day disabled list (which was abolished in 1984) UNLESS they are on the MLB club's 40-Man Roster. Then a 60-Day DL is possible AND free's up that player's spot on the 40-Man Roster.

I first read the OPs unofficial guide several seasons back in my saved game. I liked a lot of what is proposed and I've tried to follow jpeters1734's system as best as I could. Unfortunately, I have not been very successful in following the guide as closely as I wanted. I'm going to try and layout a scenario similar to mine.

MLB Team has 3 SP's and 1 CL you wouldn't replace. C is solid. 1B is solid. SS is solid. 3B is solid. LF is solid. CF is solid but aging. So, those 6 position players ain't goin' nowhere! While RF and 2B aren't rock-solid, I do have 2 awesome Utility players who are fast and can each play 5 positions. But, as much as I value them, they could be replaced. Overall, I'm left with 3 Pitchers, 2 Infielders and 3-4 Relief P's that could be replaced by better players.

AAA Team has some great players too! An LF, CF & 1B are awesome prospects, but not so awesome that I would replace tried & true MLB'ers. So they have to play AAA until I feel like replacing an MLBer or two. I have a 2B who should be in the majors on any team, but not good enough to warrant losing one of my MLB util players, not yet. 2 of my AAA SP's could be brought up and probably will at the half-way point. My AAA rotation is going to be awful, but MLB is what matters, right?

AA Team has 1 really good SP, 1 Good SP, and 2 really good pos. players. SS & RF.

Class A Advanced Team has a HoF CF. Everything else is anybody's guess. As you can see, I've got many roadblocks to making my MLB squad. That's a good thing! Unfortunately, that means my AAA talent is going to live in AAA-land for years, barring injury. Some AA talent will make it to AAA, but I don't want to promote 'em just to bench them. I'd rather they keep playing ball all season in AA, most likely.

If you have a really good MLB team you just can't promote according to a schedule. Most of those really good MLB'ers are going to be playing for years to come. Again, that's the goal, right? If any of my young players turn into anything worthwhile by the time they're in A+ ball their progress is going to slow because of the players ahead of them (unless they play different spots, of course). Pitchers, not so much...you can never have too much pitching, right?

Is it recommended to just cut good AAA players who have aged and appear to be blocked due to MLB talent? I've got 26 and even a couple of 27-year-olds still in AA because of the cascading effect of having better players ahead of 'em...Even though that 26-year-old is really good, his AAA and MLB. If my MLB SS blows up his arm and knee I'll have that AAA SS replace him and feel ok that I'm not losing much if anything at all. Then, finally, my AA SS will move up to AAA. In time, he'll be playing SS at 32 years old in AAA if a better, younger player doesn't come along. Is it sometimes better to cut someone like that recently promoted AAA SS so I could put a much younger AA SS in his place, even though that AA SS is 1.5 stars and the old SS is 3 stars? Who knows, maybe with every day playing the 1.5 SS might progress to 2.5 or maybe even 3, if lucky.

I hope I haven't written an unreadable pile of dog-doo. Hopefully, anyone who hasn't fallen asleep yet will get the gist of what I'm asking. I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this.

[Mat]

Can you trade anyone? If I get a backlog of players and I cannot or do not want to promote, I will see what I can get to restock lower levels of minors.

And yes, do not be afraid to cut, but only if you cannot get anything for them.

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by moore4807

In OOTP that I've found - ANY player who gets put on the 60 day IR is automatically removed from the 40 man roster, regardless what level of minors they are in.

I don't know of any "switch" in the settings that lets you change that.

IRL MLB baseball - I think you also have to remove (LTIR) the player from your 40 man roster too. Its likely a contractual thing to keep the Jeffry Loria's from cheaping out on paying 40 players... Oh Wait.. he's gone...

The problem in this case was that the 60 day IL was not available to me for this minor leaguer on the 40-man roster. My only options were waive or release.

I waived him and, of course, no one picked him up. Once he passed through waivers, I put him back on the AAA roster.

Then ... and here's the very best part ... then and only then was the 60 day IL made available to me. Go figure.

I don't know if it's like that in real life, but it's like that in OOTP.