So I think I just destroyed my entire minor league system...

[Lintyfresh85]

I was messing around with the game last night and tweaking some things in my minor league system and I saw a box called action at the bottom of the screen and I clicked and just fooling around I set it to have AI set my system... well guess what, me not really thinking clicked ok and the game switched my entire minor leagues around! Worst part is I wasn't paying attention when it did this and I decided to export after I made some line-up changes to the big team....

So basically I'm screwed, I can't send guys back down to other minor teams because I'll kill their careers by demoting them in the minors... So I've gotta hope the AI knows what it's talking about when it switched my minors up. I've got at least two or three draft picks already sent to AAA.

Talk about a big blunder.

[Andrew]

I was messing around with the game last night and tweaking some things in my minor league system and I saw a box called action at the bottom of the screen and I clicked and just fooling around I set it to have AI set my system... well guess what, me not really thinking clicked ok and the game switched my entire minor leagues around! Worst part is I wasn't paying attention when it did this and I decided to export after I made some line-up changes to the big team....

So basically I'm screwed, I can't send guys back down to other minor teams because I'll kill their careers by demoting them in the minors... So I've gotta hope the AI knows what it's talking about when it switched my minors up. I've got at least two or three draft picks already sent to AAA.

Talk about a big blunder.

Re-download the league file and unzip it manually and your team will be right back to where it was after Tuesday's sim. Then just export again and it will overwrite whatever you screwed up.

[Riverman]

So basically I'm screwed, I can't send guys back down to other minor teams because I'll kill their careers by demoting them in the minors... So I've gotta hope the AI knows what it's talking about when it switched my minors up. I've got at least two or three draft picks already sent to AAA.

Is it true that you kill a guy's career if you demote them in the minors? I've never heard that anywhere.

[Lintyfresh85]

one question though... say you did move a guy up to see what the minor league system report said about him, and then you moved him back down right away after it said he wasn't ready for that level... would that still kill his career, or are they potentially ok because they never actually spent any time on the level above?

[Andrew]

one question though... say you did move a guy up to see what the minor league system report said about him, and then you moved him back down right away after it said he wasn't ready for that level... would that still kill his career, or are they potentially ok because they never actually spent any time on the level above?

I've never heard of sending players down being automatic career killers. If anything it should help a struggling player get back on track if they're not ready for their current level.

[Riverman]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this Minor League System Report we get? I know it is supposed to inhibit a player's development if he plays in a league that is above his current ability. I'm wondering if the game's assessment of whether or not a player is at the correct level corresponds to this report.

I recently had a guy who started 5-0 .056 ERA at AA so I thought that he ought to be ready for AAA at least. The first thing he did when he got there was produce a complete game 5 hit 2 ER performance but I noticed that my Minor League System Report indicated that he was not ready for AAA. So I thought, "Hmm, if the game thinks he's not ready for AAA maybe I better send him back down so as not to screw up his development", and did so. Back in AA he proceeds to give up 8 ER in 13 2/3 innings in his next two starts and I'm not sure what to think. According to Lintyfresh his career is dead but that would be a pretty dumb thing to put into the game it seems to me.

I am mainly wondering about how much stock we should put in the Minor League System Report. I've noticed a lot of pretty weird assessments (based on performance) besides the one I mentioned above.

[Andrew]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this Minor League System Report we get? I know it is supposed to inhibit a player's development if he plays in a league that is above his current ability. I'm wondering if the game's assessment of whether or not a player is at the correct level corresponds to this report.

I mostly ignore the Minor League System report. If a guy has prolonged success at a level, I move him up. The thing I'd be careful of is moving people around based on small sample sizes. I prefer at least a half season, preferably a full season before moving my top prospects up a level.

[Lintyfresh85]

I recently had a guy who started 5-0 .056 ERA at AA so I thought that he ought to be ready for AAA at least. The first thing he did when he got there was produce a complete game 5 hit 2 ER performance but I noticed that my Minor League System Report indicated that he was not ready for AAA. So I thought, "Hmm, if the game thinks he's not ready for AAA maybe I better send him back down so as not to screw up his development", and did so. Back in AA he proceeds to give up 8 ER in 13 2/3 innings in his next two starts and I'm not sure what to think. According to Lintyfresh his career is dead but that would be a pretty dumb thing to put into the game it seems to me.

Let me clarify.... what I meant was that I was reading the OOTP forums and I came across info that spoke of promoting/demoting a player too soon... basically if you leave a player somewhere too long, or the inverse and you promote them too soon, with the way the player progression engine is (skewed to the negative to obtain the accurate % of players making it to the bigs), they are more likely to take a negative potential hit. After they receive that, from what I can tell on the OOTP boards, most people will tell you a player that receives a negative talent/potential report is rendered useless and might as well be cut as they are now done being anything more than a AAAA player.

Having said that, I could be totally misunderstanding their threads over there, and listening to any info I give may be a fatal mistake.

[Andrew]

I think that's partially true but from what I understand it's more skewed towards performance. I think you can do irreparable damage to a player by promoting them too soon and letting them struggle for extended periods of time against tougher competition. On the other hand, guys who move up and do well against the tougher competition have a good probability of progressing very quickly. Mel Woodbury and Gil O'Moore are good examples of this.

That being said it's not 100% performance based. If you leave a guy in A ball he's never going to reach his full potential no matter how well he performs. Players need to compete against tougher competition in order to continue improving.

Development is a big part of why we should consider a rookie league. I think it's throwing the development of our league off a little bit by bringing in newly drafted players and immediately placing them a level above where they should be playing against competition that might have a couple years head start on them.

[Riverman]

Thanks, Andrew and Linty for your thoughts. Player development is an important topic and I wish I understood it better.

[Lintyfresh85]

here's one thing that bugs me about Minor League System reports...

Lets look at my stellar Single A reliever Joey McLerlan...

Career Minor League A Ball Pitching Stats

1981-18 years old 25g, .36 era, 25.1IP, 20/5 K/BB, .99WHIP, 13.1VORP
1982-19 years old 28g, 1.09era, 33.0IP, 41/13 K/BB, 1.12WHIP, 14.8VORP

By all accounts this guy should be ready for AA Ball. Yet when I moved him up to AA, the game says he is "Not ready for AA". What gives? This kid has killed people in A Ball, and his ratings are good 6/2/3.... I'm afraid to move him off the Single A team because I don't want him to take a drastic ratings drop. So, do I rely on the report, or do I take the plunge?

BTW, I already did try him at AA for a week but got scared when I saw the results so I quickly pulled him back to Single A for the time being..

Here's his very brief AA stats...

3g, 5.40era, 3.1IP, 3/7 K/BB, 2.40WHIP, -0.1VORP

Here's the really strange part... when I did the AI shuffle roster thing, guess what the AI did... they not only moved him up from Single A to Double A, they inserted him as the CL. Yet when you look at the report... there it says, "Not ready for Double A."

[Andrew]

Thats the reason I ignore the Minor League Report's recommendations. I also think you moved him back down too quickly. His stats at AA weren't that bad considering the limited sample size. You need to give him time to make the adjustment.

[Lintyfresh85]

I'll give him another shot when I get things patched up after getting home.

What I'm curious about is why his walks to strikeout is so high in AA. You wouldn't think he'd start walking guys because he's in a new league... That is unless the eyes of hitters are that much better in AA than they are in A.

[Pat]

R.A. Grounds was listed as "not ready for ___ ball" at AA, and AAA.

http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_3060.html

As a rookie he hit .302 with a .739 OPS at A level. The next year, I started him in AA, and he hit .325 with a .867 OPS. After 76 games there, I moved him to AAA where he hit .331 with a .753 OPS in 36 games. Then, I made him a September call-up where he hit .275 with a .672 OPS.

This year, he is an All-Star.

[Lintyfresh85]

well thanks for the info guys...

Guess I'll go back to my original way of scouting... using a combination of stats and ratings.