Just finished my first amateur draft...

[mortmachine]

In my very first season of OOTP. So, just selecting 21 draft picks was a bit overwhelming... And now I'm looking at my FCL team, and there are 75 players on the roster. That seems a bit excessive. I initially had my assistant GM handling promotions/demotions, but I shut that off after seeing a few moves I disagreed with. I figure I'll start looking through those players, to see if it makes sense to move any of them to my A teams. How should I be organizing my lower teams? I'm assuming the AA and AAA teams should have my best prospects getting plenty of playing time, with some backups and filler-type players, but what about the rookie league teams and the single A teams? Is there a good guide/tutorial I should be reading/watching for handling those? TIA!

[Daniel_09]

Originally Posted by mortmachine

In my very first season of OOTP. So, just selecting 21 draft picks was a bit overwhelming... And now I'm looking at my FCL team, and there are 75 players on the roster. That seems a bit excessive. I initially had my assistant GM handling promotions/demotions, but I shut that off after seeing a few moves I disagreed with. I figure I'll start looking through those players, to see if it makes sense to move any of them to my A teams. How should I be organizing my lower teams? I'm assuming the AA and AAA teams should have my best prospects getting plenty of playing time, with some backups and filler-type players, but what about the rookie league teams and the single A teams? Is there a good guide/tutorial I should be reading/watching for handling those? TIA!

There are many ways to handle the minors, there are several videos on Youtube of players who have had OOTP since the first versions that can help you.

In summary I think it is important that you pay attention to the following details

Use the option in the player's profile to see his ratings relative to various levels, this gives you an idea at what level the player can perform well and develop, on the scale 20-80 taking into account that 50 is the average rating.

The players you want to control choose the option to block the CPU from handling promotions and demotions. Micro managing the minors can be tedious and extremely tiring. I do it personally because I enjoy making decisions in the minors.

With the lower levels rosters usually have a lot of players I recommend that you don't be afraid to release a lot of players that have very low potential for example players with potentials of 20 or 25 out of 80, or that have a very high age and never developed, try to keep the rosters as tight as possible between 35 and 40 players in the lower levels and between 25 and 35 in the higher levels so that everyone gets playing time.

In AAA if there are positions available don't bring up players from AA who are not ready, hire veteran FA's who are willing to play on a minor league contract.

[Daniel_09]

in the minors hire coaches who are good at development and mechanics, this helps the development of prospects.

It depends a lot on the settings you have for development but if they are set to default and as has been proven specifically in this version of the game, players tend to develop slower during their career but quickly move up the ratings to MLB level readiness (those with enough potential).

so unless there is a drastic change in the development engine in upcoming patches, don't be afraid of players in the minors repeating the same level the following year either.

Many of us want OOTP to be an almost exact representation of real life MLB, but it's not, everyone chooses the settings they like best. So there is no such thing as a standard or manual to follow for all players in the minors.

I think the most important thing as I mentioned before is that the players are at a level that is not too far above or below their abilities.

Personally, if a player has 45/80 of his ratings relative to the next level in the minors, I leave him another year at the same level.

It is also important not to be promoting or demoting players due to short-term performance or injuries in the minors, that is why I like to have more players in the minors than 26, to have that flexibility.

[mortmachine]

Good info, thanks Daniel! Especially the part about looking at their ratings relative to the different levels, I hadn't noticed that before... And I can see the point about this being a bit tedious, but if you're going to build a championship-caliber organization, you gotta put in some time and effort!

[Daniel_09]

Originally Posted by mortmachine

Good info, thanks Daniel! Especially the part about looking at their ratings relative to the different levels, I hadn't noticed that before... And I can see the point about this being a bit tedious, but if you're going to build a championship-caliber organization, you gotta put in some time and effort!

That's right, you have to put a little love into the minors, then over time you get used to the ratings and without changing relatively to each league you can more or less deduce which level they belong to. but something important is to be guided by the hitter ratings (if he is a hitter) and the pitcher ratings (if he is a pitcher) since the overall rating is included the speed and defensive ratings which can make a 45/80 overall not even prepared to play AAA since his other ratings have not fully developed.

[tonnage]

Here is some good information too.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...league+rosters

[Daniel_09]

Originally Posted by tonnage

Here is some good information too.

https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...league+rosters

Great general guide to handle the minors, but take into account that this was with the OOTP 20 development engine (for me 19 and 20 have the best development engines, almost all the settings were left at default), and what I have seen in the forums is that the development of rookies during their first years is very different in this version.

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by Daniel_09

It depends a lot on the settings you have for development but if they are set to default and as has been proven specifically in this version of the game, players tend to develop slower during their career but quickly move up the ratings to MLB level readiness (those with enough potential).

so unless there is a drastic change in the development engine in upcoming patches, don't be afraid of players in the minors repeating the same level the following year either.

As mentioned we'll tweak some things with development in upcoming patches, but I seriously doubt this will greatly change. Most players in real life repeat levels, and most take anywhere from 4-6 years in the minors before becoming MLB ready. It's only a very, very select few that do not follow that path.

[Daniel_09]

Originally Posted by Lukas Berger

As mentioned we'll tweak some things with development in upcoming patches, but I seriously doubt this will greatly change. Most players in real life repeat levels, and most take anywhere from 4-6 years in the minors before becoming MLB ready. It's only a very, very select few that do not follow that path.

Thanks Lukas, waiting for the patch to start my long sim.

[Jasper70]

One thing I have found useful for the Minors is the use of shortlisting your top batters and pitchers. Once you assign them to a team you can use the "disable AI demotion/promotion feature to lock them at that specific level. Then let your Assistant GM handle minor league promotions.
I do the same thing with my amateur draft


Things I never do
Don't allow your Minor League managers to sign players

[Pelican]

OP has gotten lots of good advice here and at the links provided. I hesitate to add anything. But:

On coaches, I agree with the emphasis on teaching skills and development - particularly at the lowest levels. That kind of coach is less useful at AAA, where the players are older and more experienced, and many have had some MLB time. (If they haven't learned by then, it's likely too late to teach them...)

Age is very important for my promotion/release/retention decisions. You'll have young guys, down to 17 for international [this system is broken IRL; but that is a topic for another thread], and they need to be given time in the developmental leagues - and now, selectively, in the dev labs. Don't give up on a young guy too soon. Potential can improve over time. Also, other way, remember it's tough to be the youngest guy at any level of the minor leagues - unless you're the exception like Jackson Holliday! So don't promote too fast.

Moreover on age, I have had good success drafting players out of college, when they are 21 or 22, instead of teenagers right out of high school. Their ratings are far more reliable, since they have been playing against good competition (the SEC is probably equivalent to High A minor leagues). They are more mature, filled-out, and have survived injury in many cases. What you see is what you get. Scouting is accurate. Of course, most won't improve tremendously. The best prospects can start at A+ or AA and be in the majors within a year. Of course, they will be harder to sign and require more cash than prep stars, on average. And yeah, the best prospects still forego college and sign - although that is changing over time.

Finally, how you play is your choice. I typically adjust the Player Development Settings under Players and Teams in the game Settings. You have the option of changing the default 1.00 settings for pitcher and batter development speed. I have advanced to 1.15 in the attached screenshot. That affects all players, so I don't see it as "cheesing" the game. Since I play out seasons, frequently game-by-game, this enables me to see players advance more quickly. (I also have advanced aging to 1.15, to make room for the rookies!)