Player Development Optimization

Zboch · 09-11-2019, 10:59 AM

Hello all, I have very unique and detailed interests when it comes to player development. I want to always get the most out of my minor league organizations, and I pay attention to as many details as I can.

Here are the things that I start doing to max player development:
- max development budget
- max scouting budget
- find the best scout (I have a bias for good Amateur, Minor League and International ratings)
- hire managers with excellent development ratings at levels, with at least "good" player relationships
- find players with good work ethic

Here are some things that I have questions about:
#1- has anyone had success with aligning their entire org's hitting and pitching philosophies? For example, all power-centric hitting coaches?
#2- I have seen a player's "batted ball profile" change when I promote him/demote him. Has anyone else seen this? I am assuming this is because of the differing philosophies of hitting coaches. In AAA, the player has a "normal" batted ball profile with a "Power" focused hitting coach. In ML, the player has a "groundball" batted ball profile with a "Neutral" hitting coach.

Of course, any other tips, tricks and suggestions outside these questions and philosophies are welcomed!

NoOne · 09-11-2019, 11:19 AM

#1 - one reason it is bad -- for power, anyway -- power doesn't develop at younger ages no matter what you do. so, don't try. these specialized foci (?) are likely a bump to one and a small negative to the other 2. is it enough to create a net gain at any particular level? no idea.

the other two may or may not be good to focus on up and down minors. i'd take a more tailored approach to what you see occurring at each level. in my experience, eye can lag early, so i like a eye coach at rookie/S-a. At A-ball i want that contact exploding so they can have a better chance of developing power at AA-AAA after a quick promotion (age and pcm are a factor for power and when it is likely to start tickign up more, i believe -- still can happen early, and promote those guys asap if it does and contact is keeping up with level of minors).

i try to use contact or eye early -- if i have 2 levels at any 1 rung, i split them up. prospects with lagging eye go to the eye focus. (this is about current ability, not potential, i doubt it impacts potential much, but maybe a small boost to an already very very tiny % it increases to anything outside of TCR).

by AA - AAA i'd use power in any league slightly resembling modern day power.

your statistical environment may affect what is optimum, if there is an optimum.

what you can do is avoid stagnating any player at a level below his current ability. that's extremely bad and only a reasonable thing if you play stats only -- you will inevitably be behind when relying on stats alone and no ratings, so some guys inevitably stay longer at various levels before recognizing they can be promoted.

so, hand-tailor their ascent -- top prospects only that can make the mlb, be useful in a trade, or you intend to keep as MLB depth as AAAAers. i.e. anything useful.

definitely avoid power at lower levels, but other than that, do as you feel is best with coaches... they are a tiny piece of the pie, either way.

i like a neutral coach at MLB for maintaining ability accross board, in case that has some negative impact with a focus.

work ethic is good, but also intelligence helps development. work ethic contines to help maintain it later, too.

#2 it's the LTMs of the league and such. the statistical environment can change at any level and the ratings will therefore mean something new -- not just due to park factors or talent in league.

even if you have the same modifiers (LTM - stats and ai options), if they aren't callibrated, you can still see s slightly different profile, i bet. (autocalc them every ~3-5 years, maybe? that'd keep the profiles similar after promotion, if same LTM.)

so, if you want uniformity in that stuff, you'd have to make it all the same STats and AI settings.

it's something i'm not a fan of... ratings shouldn't float around like that. Various factors should be the cause of change, not moving some dials on the ratings. it makes transitioning from one era to the next just silly. power of x is 5hr one year, then 20 the next. that's not how RL works, lol. poor modeling, imo. probably simplifies something else in the engine? i'm sure there's a reason for it, but not a great one.

09-11-2019, 10:59 AM	#1
Zboch Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 25	Player Development Optimization Hello all, I have very unique and detailed interests when it comes to player development. I want to always get the most out of my minor league organizations, and I pay attention to as many details as I can. Here are the things that I start doing to max player development: - max development budget - max scouting budget - find the best scout (I have a bias for good Amateur, Minor League and International ratings) - hire managers with excellent development ratings at levels, with at least "good" player relationships - find players with good work ethic Here are some things that I have questions about: #1- has anyone had success with aligning their entire org's hitting and pitching philosophies? For example, all power-centric hitting coaches? #2- I have seen a player's "batted ball profile" change when I promote him/demote him. Has anyone else seen this? I am assuming this is because of the differing philosophies of hitting coaches. In AAA, the player has a "normal" batted ball profile with a "Power" focused hitting coach. In ML, the player has a "groundball" batted ball profile with a "Neutral" hitting coach. Of course, any other tips, tricks and suggestions outside these questions and philosophies are welcomed!

09-11-2019, 11:19 AM	#2
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,167	#1 - one reason it is bad -- for power, anyway -- power doesn't develop at younger ages no matter what you do. so, don't try. these specialized foci (?) are likely a bump to one and a small negative to the other 2. is it enough to create a net gain at any particular level? no idea. the other two may or may not be good to focus on up and down minors. i'd take a more tailored approach to what you see occurring at each level. in my experience, eye can lag early, so i like a eye coach at rookie/S-a. At A-ball i want that contact exploding so they can have a better chance of developing power at AA-AAA after a quick promotion (age and pcm are a factor for power and when it is likely to start tickign up more, i believe -- still can happen early, and promote those guys asap if it does and contact is keeping up with level of minors). i try to use contact or eye early -- if i have 2 levels at any 1 rung, i split them up. prospects with lagging eye go to the eye focus. (this is about current ability, not potential, i doubt it impacts potential much, but maybe a small boost to an already very very tiny % it increases to anything outside of TCR). by AA - AAA i'd use power in any league slightly resembling modern day power. your statistical environment may affect what is optimum, if there is an optimum. what you can do is avoid stagnating any player at a level below his current ability. that's extremely bad and only a reasonable thing if you play stats only -- you will inevitably be behind when relying on stats alone and no ratings, so some guys inevitably stay longer at various levels before recognizing they can be promoted. so, hand-tailor their ascent -- top prospects only that can make the mlb, be useful in a trade, or you intend to keep as MLB depth as AAAAers. i.e. anything useful. definitely avoid power at lower levels, but other than that, do as you feel is best with coaches... they are a tiny piece of the pie, either way. i like a neutral coach at MLB for maintaining ability accross board, in case that has some negative impact with a focus. work ethic is good, but also intelligence helps development. work ethic contines to help maintain it later, too. #2 it's the LTMs of the league and such. the statistical environment can change at any level and the ratings will therefore mean something new -- not just due to park factors or talent in league. even if you have the same modifiers (LTM - stats and ai options), if they aren't callibrated, you can still see s slightly different profile, i bet. (autocalc them every ~3-5 years, maybe? that'd keep the profiles similar after promotion, if same LTM.) so, if you want uniformity in that stuff, you'd have to make it all the same STats and AI settings. it's something i'm not a fan of... ratings shouldn't float around like that. Various factors should be the cause of change, not moving some dials on the ratings. it makes transitioning from one era to the next just silly. power of x is 5hr one year, then 20 the next. that's not how RL works, lol. poor modeling, imo. probably simplifies something else in the engine? i'm sure there's a reason for it, but not a great one.