farm system

[jdolecek49]

After you draft a player do they always need to start in the lowest level? for instance if you have 5 teams in the minors do you always start the superstars at the bottom? how long typically do they stay there until you promote them? do you even skip a level when you promote him?


i'm just not very good at managing the minors and I'm just trying to figure this process out

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by jdolecek49

After you draft a player do they always need to start in the lowest level? for instance if you have 5 teams in the minors do you always start the superstars at the bottom? how long typically do they stay there until you promote them? do you even skip a level when you promote him?


i'm just not very good at managing the minors and I'm just trying to figure this process out

There are various theories on this, but in the end it really comes down to how much time and effort you want to put / how hands-on you want to be. Unfortunately one of the few shortcomings in OOTP as I see it is the AI management of rosters. So the more responsibility you cede to the AI managers the less likelihood there is of your farm system being handled the way you want. Suffice to say, the more settings you tinker with the less disparity, but still the logic the AI applies in this regard is often baffling and regularly leads to players being used in strange ways.

I would NEVER give the AI responsibility to release players, that I can tell you.

With regard to where to put players, that ends up being just another skill you learn from experience. The short answer to your initial question is NO. Put players at the level they are capable of playing. For the most part I err to the conservative side of the equation and slot players just under to begin with then promote them as soon as they seem ready to go up, but others will recommend you do the opposite--put players slightly above where they look ready to play and let them acclimatise. I do this for strong prospects from time to time and there is merit in their methodology. Tinker about, find what works best for you, and go with that is all I can say.

[Mat]

I like to bring prospects through most levels but some prospects will fast track through two or three levels in one season. Others will not.

[Hrycaj]

Somewhere on these boards someone posted a formula for what they do based on the ratings of the players. You can probably do a search and find it. It seemed to get good reviews. As a stats only player it isn't as cut and dry. I refer to this chart from the manual frequently. https://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com...er_development

I especially pay attention to the part about "challenge" where it reads: Players respond differently to challenges. Often, a player who is tearing up Double A hitting might not be developing very quickly, because he isn't being challenged. Similarly, putting an overmatched rookie into your major league starting lineup could actually hurt his development.

I have learned to become a complete micro-manger of my minor leagues because of this. Mistakes I feel I have made in the past (Since I don't have ratings on, I don't know if they are in fact mistakes) is leaving a guy at a minor league level because he was tearing it up and I thought that was good for his confidence. My new theory is to take that guy, even if he has only about a hundred at bats or 50.0 IP and move him up a level until I find that spot where he is being challenged. Since I try to draft high work ethic guys I am hoping that I am doing right by them. I should also say that a player has to be absolutely getting torched for me to drop him back down a level. In my mind I already know what he can do at that lower level. So if he can't hack it where he is, then he probably is a bust anyway. The exception would be the high school drafted kids. If a 19 year old is doing well in "A" ball but is getting exposed in "AA" then I would dial him back. He is still so young that he can still catch a development boost. However, in that same scenario with a guy at 23 years of age I'm not so accommodating.

In all, if you are into micro-managing you will develop a system that you are comfortable with.....then you will get upset and change it.

[luckymann]

This may be what Hrycaj was referring to.

Very good but very comprehensive.

This Reddit post doesn't specifically cover minors but also gives some good insights into longer-term planning.

[Hrycaj]

Originally Posted by luckymann

This may be what Hrycaj was referring to.

Very good but very comprehensive.

This Reddit post doesn't specifically cover minors but also gives some good insights into longer-term planning.

I forgot about this one! It is very comprehensive. I think the approach with jpeters system calls for more caution than I am probably using myself. Which isn't a knock at all. I also do not play in a universe where that many minor league levels exist so I have to adjust accordingly. Either way it is a great reference and gives the OP something a bit more scientific than what I shared.

It wasn't the one I was thinking of though. I could of sworn there was one out there where it was promoting simply using the ratings. However, even if I found it I wouldn't share it since I think the link luckmann shared is far superior.

[blink]

I try to stay on top of my farm system with a hands on approach. Generally, I will use the end of spring training to make sure all of my prospects are playing at the appropriate levels. The last thing you want is your top prospect struggling at AA when he should be a A-.


Once the season starts, I usually look at it every month to see how the prospects are progressing. If a guy is dominating a level, I move him up or if a prospect is struggling, I consider moving him down a level. You don't want to move too many guys down through levels in your system as the goal is an upward trajectory.


I look at ages. If I have an 18 year old prospect, yeah he probably starts the year at R level or maybe A-. If they are 21 or older and new to my system, I usually start them at A- or even A.


When I trade for prospects, I look at the stats and see what level they were at and judge whether they can handle a promotion or not.


At the All-Star Break, I go through my system again and grant promotions or demotions. And again, at the end of the season I will make some progressions prior to the Rule 5 draft and FA period.


You do need to do the following.


- Ensure that your top prospects are playing the position you want them to play. The worst scenario is when the AI blocks your top prospect by playing a 28 year old career minor leaguer ahead of them. Force start your prospects who you really want to develop.


- Look at their stats and judge when they can be moved up. Some prospects will dominate levels right away, others will take more time. I don't usually look at ratings or stars but I do base my promotions on stats.


- Make sure each minor league team has positions properly allocated. What I mean by this is make sure there aren't 5 catchers on your AA team. I'm not sure how strict you are with rosters but I usually find that having around 30 players per minor league team works well. Because of injuries you do need those extra players to fill in.


- Pay attention to which prospects are injured and make sure you do have enough minor league talent to fill those holes. If not, promote a player to fill in.


- I have the AI decide on minor league lineups but I do force start my top prospects and make sure that I've got all of the positions properly covered off and ensuring that most of the guys on the team will all see playing time. You don't want 8 OF's on a minor league team when you realistically only need 4-5. If you need to release or make trades, do so.


- I find the game (at least in OOTP20) loves to turn SP into RP so I always look to make sure that the guys I do want to be in the SP role are set to that. Nothing worse than simming a few months at a time and finding out that your top SP prospect has been closing out games down in A ball.


- If you have Independent leagues on, make sure you are scouting them frequently as well. I've been able to find some real gems in the independent leagues and add them to my system. I've noticed the AI has done that as well with Indy league players turning into MLB success stories.


If you do want to have a successful farm system, you do have to cultivate it a bit and make sure you are paying attention to it. Promote/demote players when necessary and make sure that you don't have any positional logjams.


Also, if a player is ready for the Majors at AA, don't be afraid to jump him right up into the majors. They don't necessarily have to play AAA. Most of my prospects I do like to have them play a bit of time at AAA level but in some cases, it's really not necessary. You can usually tell when a player is ready for the majors based on age and ratings.

[CBeisbol]

I let my assistant GM handle the vast majority of my minor league players

I control the important ones

First, I lock them to whichever level I think is appropriate for them. This is based on ratings, stats and age. The "appropriate level" is the highest level at which they won't be overmatched. The "view ratings relative to" button is helpful here

Second, I force start to to ensure they are playing and playing where I want them to play

That's about it.

[mytreds]

My general overall approach is if their OPS+/ERA+ dictates a call up, I move them at the end of the season. I move players up or down during the season only due to injury vacancies. If a player is performing poorly over multiple seasons, they get cut. If they are over 25 and aren’t making it in sub-AAA ball, they are cut. If they turn out to be poor personalities, they are cut. If I do it right, after year three in my save I usually have too many quality players in AAA hankering for MLB starting roles. These you trade for more prospects you can fill in at A and AA levels.

Of course there are always exceptions to my general strategy and I look at every player not just my “studs”. This can be time consuming, but this part of the game, as well as creating custom logos and jerseys is what brings me the most joy in this simulator.