Building Your Farm System

Cod · 04-25-2015, 03:26 AM

I've been playing this game for a few years now and can do a decent job running a team with a fat wallet. I can't figure out how to build a farm system.

Trading all-stars for prospects is very difficult since I have the trade AI set to very hard / favor prospects. The only other way I can think of is through the draft / international FA. Am I missing something? Should I look at lower ranking FAs that are young and put tons of money into my development program?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I'd like to learn how y'all run a team with a low budget and continually improve your farm system (w/ or w/o a low budget).

etothep · 04-25-2015, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cod

put tons of money into my development program?

MmmRocks · 04-25-2015, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cod

I've been playing this game for a few years now and can do a decent job running a team with a fat wallet. I can't figure out how to build a farm system.

Trading all-stars for prospects is very difficult since I have the trade AI set to very hard / favor prospects. The only other way I can think of is through the draft / international FA. Am I missing something? Should I look at lower ranking FAs that are young and put tons of money into my development program?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I'd like to learn how y'all run a team with a low budget and continually improve your farm system (w/ or w/o a low budget).

I wouldn't go crazy on investing in the player development budget. I haven't noticed it making much of a difference. Instead, I'd use that money for my scouting budget, to help me draft better, and for international free agents. Make sure you understand the international free agent rules, and use them to your advantage. If it's a weak stock of prospects, you probably don't want to go over budget and be penalized for next year. If it's a really strong stock one year, go crazy and deal with spending penalties later.

It also helps to invest in mid-tier and buy low free agents on short term deals. You don't want to sign free agents that you'll have to give up draft picks for if you're rebuilding. You can then flip those players at the deadline or before for mid-tier prospects. Don't go to crazy though, because losing games helps you get a better draft position and you want to have money left over to invest in scouting and the drafts.

BoSoxFan2 · 04-25-2015, 09:30 AM

Definitely put the $$$ into player development. Don't go cheap. In my expansion league, I had the 31st ranked farm system, then after doubling my player development budget to $24,000,000 from the league average, my farm system went from 31st to 14th in one year, and then 14th to 2nd the next. Granted I added a couple of players in the draft, but more interestingly, I had a couple of 16th round picks make the bigs, which I don't think would've happened otherwise.

MmmRocks · 04-25-2015, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan2

Definitely put the $$$ into player development. Don't go cheap. In my expansion league, I had the 31st ranked farm system, then after doubling my player development budget to $24,000,000 from the league average, my farm system went from 31st to 14th in one year, and then 14th to 2nd the next. Granted I added a couple of players in the draft, but more interestingly, I had a couple of 16th round picks make the bigs, which I don't think would've happened otherwise.

Huh, interesting. Is anyone aware of a study on the affects of the budget? I've had my farm system makes similar jumps in online leagues with the budget turned off simply through drafting, trading and signing international free agents.

beezer2434 · 04-25-2015, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MmmRocks

Huh, interesting. Is anyone aware of a study on the affects of the budget? I've had my farm system makes similar jumps in online leagues with the budget turned off simply through drafting, trading and signing international free agents.

Ive done this as well...loaded the budget for player development...drafted players with high work ethic and intelligence and they develop well. This works great for players drafted late that have very high work ethic and intelligence.

ra7c7er · 04-25-2015, 01:06 PM

I try to trade for draft picks (yes I turn it on) and I pay a lot of attention to the draft and my minor league.

I'll make seemingly lateral trades if I think another player has a better upside then what I currently have.

Cod · 04-25-2015, 07:50 PM

Thanks for all the input thus far.

As far as FA is concerned, is there a way to tell whether or not a player will cost a draft pick (can't think of the word right now)?

Gai1997 · 04-25-2015, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cod

Thanks for all the input thus far.

As far as FA is concerned, is there a way to tell whether or not a player will cost a draft pick (can't think of the word right now)?

Bottom left corner of a player's screen. It would say "Compensation" instead of "No Compensation" if he costed a draft pick. Also know that the top third of the first round picks are protected from the compensation process. You'd lose your 2nd rounder instead. Probably picks 1-10.

Rockfan616 · 04-26-2015, 12:59 PM

In the long run, it's always better to pay close attention to your minor leagues and build thru the draft along with international FA's and the occasional trade too. You can't always be like the Yankees who for the most part ignore their farm system and just go for the highest paid FA's in the game. It may be great for your MLB club, but not so great for your farm system and future big leaguers.

Gai1997 · 04-26-2015, 01:20 PM

How about promotions? Should I do it, or let the game do it? If I should do it, when do I know when to promote?

'94 EXPOS · 04-26-2015, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gai1997

How about promotions? Should I do it, or let the game do it? If I should do it, when do I know when to promote?

Up to you

Some find it too tedious some like myself enjoy it. I set my minor league lineups and pitching staffs. I like being responsible for total control of the management side of my organization. Releasing of prospects at the end of the year to make room for the new guys is also rewarding (and sometimes punishing) when you do it yourself.

You can screw up a prospect by promoting too soon. I like this aspect of the game. I also like making the call whether I try to develop a guy as a starter vs reliever. When drafting I love selecting 'dual threat' prospects late who have ratings both as a position player and a pitcher. Before releasing a prospect I always check to make sure he has been tried in the opposite role. This has worked out for me a few times and it makes me feel smarter then I really am.

I use a combination of scout reports, stats and the player's intangibles ratings to choose when to promote a prospect.

I won't promote super young guys who don't have a good work ethic or intelligence even if they are performing well. I take a very measured approach with them. But if they have good traits and are mashing it I will speed them along.

Gai1997 · 04-26-2015, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '94 EXPOS

Up to you

Some find it too tedious some like myself enjoy it. I set my minor league lineups and pitching staffs. I like being responsible for total control of the management side of my organization. Releasing of prospects at the end of the year to make room for the new guys is also rewarding (and sometimes punishing) when you do it yourself.

You can screw up a prospect by promoting too soon. I like this aspect of the game. I also like making the call whether I try to develop a guy as a starter vs reliever. When drafting I love selecting 'dual threat' prospects late who have ratings both as a position player and a pitcher. Before releasing a prospect I always check to make sure he has been tried in the opposite role. This has worked out for me a few times and it makes me feel smarter then I really am.

I use a combination of scout reports, stats and the player's intangibles ratings to choose when to promote a prospect.

I won't promote super young guys who don't have a good work ethic or intelligence even if they are performing well. I take a very measured approach with them. But if they have good traits and are mashing it I will speed them along.

Do you look at almost all your prospects? Like I'll find prospects with good potential and choose to worry about them. However I've decided to do a 1-5 ratings and no stars/potential league so I'd probably have to look for their stats a bit more.

'94 EXPOS · 04-27-2015, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gai1997

Do you look at almost all your prospects? Like I'll find prospects with good potential and choose to worry about them. However I've decided to do a 1-5 ratings and no stars/potential league so I'd probably have to look for their stats a bit more.

I do monitor all of my prospects development. I also set the lineups and batting orders. I try to give all drafted players at least two years in the system. I would hate to cut a late round find before I knew what I had. My last game in ootp15 I had an 18th rounder and a 31st rounder become star players. That being said, with 40-50 new players entering your organization each year I do have to make cuts of one year players.

I have not played with your current ratings system but it sounds like your settings would make it more difficult in choosing who to keep. I am intrigued and may try it.

I don't know if playing time effects a prospects development (anyone--was there a final answer to that debate?) but one thing manually setting the lineup can help with is position development. Many prospects (as they should be) are drafted as a fielder for which they have no aptitude for in the long term. Also, some defensive studs can obviously play more then one position. By manually forcing them to learn the new position(s) early in their career you can have a more major league ready prospect by the time they hit AA or AAA. I recall some debate as to whether making a young prospect learn a new position would eat in to their development in other areas (anyone?). Intelligence and work ethic play a role in if/how fast I do this with a prospect.

hwy61 · 04-27-2015, 05:08 PM

I'm also curious about the exact effects of development budget and good coaching. Without having done any studies I've noticed maxing out the development budget to $24m seemed to make a pretty big difference. You have to figure its worth it, even if its as minor as a 5 percent positive nudge in development, that bonus is being spread across every level of your farm system. If you're playing with the standard MLB setup some teams have 8 levels of minors + an international complex. Thats 225 + players being effected.

A simple, albeit time consuming test I may run:

Make a 24 team fictional league with 4 levels of minors (no opening draft). Takeover a team with midlevel farm system. Turn off coaching (i'm assuming this sets all coaching attributes to neutral and average).

Backup and sim the same season 10 times with player development set to $6m. Then do the same with it set to $12m, and then again with $24m. Log the farm system ranking after every sim.

Then do the same with minor league coaches. 1 sim with their attributes set to 100, one with attributes at 50, and another with main attributes set to 200. On this test you keep youth development at baseline $12m.

I think i'm going to do this or Markus could just tell us what the exact effect is and save me the trouble

. I

kingcharlesxii · 04-27-2015, 05:59 PM

I pretty much always play with development budgets off - I think it gives the human GMs too big an advantage - so I can't really speak about that.

Otherwise, keep your minor league filled with warm bodies. Get rid of the older guys once it becomes obvious they're never going to develop (except for your emergency major league depth in AAA). Keep in mind that younger guys are more likely to have the random number gods be in their favor as they get more chances to get that breakout.

Make sure guys are at an appropriate levels and not doing terribly - there's no better way to crush a promising prospect than having him struggle all year. On the flip side, only promote when they have the ratings and/or stats to prove they're ready to move up.

Sign undrafted guys after the draft to fill up your low levels.

A lot of it really is just luck so you want to have as many lottery tickets as you can.

DrSatan · 04-28-2015, 07:07 AM

If you're playing with personality settings on, then pay attention to work ethic and intelligence when drafting. Prospects with high ratings in those areas have a lower chance of busting. Those are also the guys that can turn from a late round pick into a future star. That partnered with a strong development budget will help your farm system.

Also, once or twice a year check the free agents for young players with high work ethic and intelligence and sign them to minor league contracts. This has paid off for me more times than I can remember. However, if you do this pay attention to the ages. Players below 22 still have time to develop something. The closer to 25 they get the less chance they have of getting a boost or meeting their potential. Personally, I usually stick to 20 and younger unless they have decent current ratings.

Another thing, look for players who have good pitching potential but are playing a position and vice versa. You can get them at a bargain in a trade and sometimes find a gem. I recently retired a future HOF closer that was originally a catcher.

04-25-2015, 03:26 AM	#1
Cod All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 927	Building Your Farm System I've been playing this game for a few years now and can do a decent job running a team with a fat wallet. I can't figure out how to build a farm system. Trading all-stars for prospects is very difficult since I have the trade AI set to very hard / favor prospects. The only other way I can think of is through the draft / international FA. Am I missing something? Should I look at lower ranking FAs that are young and put tons of money into my development program? Any help is greatly appreciated as I'd like to learn how y'all run a team with a low budget and continually improve your farm system (w/ or w/o a low budget).

04-27-2015, 05:59 PM	#16
kingcharlesxii Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,730	I pretty much always play with development budgets off - I think it gives the human GMs too big an advantage - so I can't really speak about that. Otherwise, keep your minor league filled with warm bodies. Get rid of the older guys once it becomes obvious they're never going to develop (except for your emergency major league depth in AAA). Keep in mind that younger guys are more likely to have the random number gods be in their favor as they get more chances to get that breakout. Make sure guys are at an appropriate levels and not doing terribly - there's no better way to crush a promising prospect than having him struggle all year. On the flip side, only promote when they have the ratings and/or stats to prove they're ready to move up. Sign undrafted guys after the draft to fill up your low levels. A lot of it really is just luck so you want to have as many lottery tickets as you can. __________________ OTBA - Stockholm Royal Squirrels of Sweden OOTP Grand League Champion 2015

04-25-2015, 09:30 AM	#4
BoSoxFan2 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 42	Definitely put the $$$ into player development. Don't go cheap. In my expansion league, I had the 31st ranked farm system, then after doubling my player development budget to $24,000,000 from the league average, my farm system went from 31st to 14th in one year, and then 14th to 2nd the next. Granted I added a couple of players in the draft, but more interestingly, I had a couple of 16th round picks make the bigs, which I don't think would've happened otherwise.

04-25-2015, 01:06 PM	#7
ra7c7er All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 1,098	I try to trade for draft picks (yes I turn it on) and I pay a lot of attention to the draft and my minor league. I'll make seemingly lateral trades if I think another player has a better upside then what I currently have.

04-25-2015, 07:50 PM	#8
Cod All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 927	Thanks for all the input thus far. As far as FA is concerned, is there a way to tell whether or not a player will cost a draft pick (can't think of the word right now)?

04-26-2015, 12:59 PM	#10
Rockfan616 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 275	In the long run, it's always better to pay close attention to your minor leagues and build thru the draft along with international FA's and the occasional trade too. You can't always be like the Yankees who for the most part ignore their farm system and just go for the highest paid FA's in the game. It may be great for your MLB club, but not so great for your farm system and future big leaguers.

04-26-2015, 01:20 PM	#11
Gai1997 Major Leagues Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 370	How about promotions? Should I do it, or let the game do it? If I should do it, when do I know when to promote?

04-27-2015, 05:08 PM	#15
hwy61 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 33	I'm also curious about the exact effects of development budget and good coaching. Without having done any studies I've noticed maxing out the development budget to $24m seemed to make a pretty big difference. You have to figure its worth it, even if its as minor as a 5 percent positive nudge in development, that bonus is being spread across every level of your farm system. If you're playing with the standard MLB setup some teams have 8 levels of minors + an international complex. Thats 225 + players being effected. A simple, albeit time consuming test I may run: Make a 24 team fictional league with 4 levels of minors (no opening draft). Takeover a team with midlevel farm system. Turn off coaching (i'm assuming this sets all coaching attributes to neutral and average). Backup and sim the same season 10 times with player development set to $6m. Then do the same with it set to $12m, and then again with $24m. Log the farm system ranking after every sim. Then do the same with minor league coaches. 1 sim with their attributes set to 100, one with attributes at 50, and another with main attributes set to 200. On this test you keep youth development at baseline $12m. I think i'm going to do this or Markus could just tell us what the exact effect is and save me the trouble . I

04-28-2015, 07:07 AM	#17
DrSatan All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Parts Unknown Posts: 535	If you're playing with personality settings on, then pay attention to work ethic and intelligence when drafting. Prospects with high ratings in those areas have a lower chance of busting. Those are also the guys that can turn from a late round pick into a future star. That partnered with a strong development budget will help your farm system. Also, once or twice a year check the free agents for young players with high work ethic and intelligence and sign them to minor league contracts. This has paid off for me more times than I can remember. However, if you do this pay attention to the ages. Players below 22 still have time to develop something. The closer to 25 they get the less chance they have of getting a boost or meeting their potential. Personally, I usually stick to 20 and younger unless they have decent current ratings. Another thing, look for players who have good pitching potential but are playing a position and vice versa. You can get them at a bargain in a trade and sometimes find a gem. I recently retired a future HOF closer that was originally a catcher.