|
Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Oct 16, 2016 11:46:27 GMT -5
Hey all, I may have asked this before but I don't recall for sure so if I did ask, please forgive me. I've been reading about developing young prospects and I read about the development budget. Some advice is to invest as much money as you can into this budget. Other people said don't waste your money, that it doesn't really make a big difference in the development of your players. So I am curious if any of my PBL GMs have any advice or opinions for or against investing heavily in the development budget.
Also, I am curious about weeding out guys in the minors. I noticed that I have a ton of guys at AZL and international complex. And I have more than 30 guys at one of my AA teams. Do you think having too many players strangles progression of prospects (for playing time maybe)?
Thanks for any opinions and/or advice.
|
|
|
Post by NickP_Marlins GM on Oct 16, 2016 20:04:21 GMT -5
We always keep 10 mil in it.
The idea of drafting players and then not developing makes me too damn scared to not put the money in there.
|
|
|
Post by David_ExposGM on Oct 16, 2016 20:40:00 GMT -5
Personally I am of the mind that the money invested in development does payoff. That said, I have dropped that to ZERO when I am totally up against huge losses (and I seem to recall you mentioning that you were considering adjusting your development and scouting budgets, correct me if I am wrong) until I was able to reinvest. Hopefully it did not entirely derail the odd young career.
Making money is a bit more important than holding on to a development or scouting budget, in my opinion.
As for the minor leagues. There are dozens of ways to approach them. I believe the AI will tend to play the very best prospects so I am not sure you would stunt the best of the best. I also believe that you may never uncover some diamonds in the rough unless they get to play, so it is a good idea to cull the minors.
Things to look for: - Age (if you have, I exaggerate, a 35 year old on your rookie league team, he should be released) - Time at that level (if a player hasn't taken strides over several seasons, probably won't) - Playing time each season (if you let the AI handle your lineups and rotation at that level and it doesn't consistently play someone, I believe that's a sign) - Also NOT moving them when they should be (if you don't pay attention and let a guy rot, that's not good either)
I tend toward letting the AI handle the lineups and pitchers but I make the call on promotions/demotions and signing/releasing in the minors. A decent compromise it to also let the AI handle the promotions/demotions too, if you don't want to micro them to any degree. But the AI can make some strange calls should you give it total control of the minors.
And, only a rule of thumb, I would keep 25ish at every level and maybe let my rookie league go to 35/40ish generally. Weed out the rest if you feel they will never help OR are blocking younger talent. Some play with only the real prospects and release everyone else, allowing the AI to fill with ghosts!
And, I will generally review at about free agent time, when some of the dead weight simply leaves, and again after the draft, when you tend to have a new crop.
Hope that helps? Again, only MY thoughts on this.
Nothing better than having a deep draft pick produce on your major league team eventually (especially in a budget challenged market)!
|
|
|
Post by earlweaver on Oct 16, 2016 21:12:16 GMT -5
I spend big!!! $1.00!! all 100 of those pennies go into my development budget!
|
|
|
Post by Commish_Ron on Oct 16, 2016 23:20:01 GMT -5
You are not going to find any hard data to answer your questions. The developers are not revealing what the code is doing under the covers so it is all speculation and perspective. I am a big believer in player development and max it out as much as possible. With a small market, budget challenged organization like the Padres a strong pipeline of talented youngsters is critical. The Padres minors have provided some of the best talent in the league. Is that a result of PD? I think it plays a part anyway. I also think it is a very good idea to keep the minor leagues groomed. It makes sense that actual playing time would have an effect on development. I keep all levels at around 30-35 and ensure that everyone gets at bats and innings pitched. In addition to developing players it helps me identify the guys that consistently outperform ratings. Another extremely valuable commodity in the small market.
|
|
|
Post by NickP_Marlins GM on Oct 16, 2016 23:26:12 GMT -5
David has it right.
Making money is #1 and the rest will follow.
|
|
|
Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Oct 17, 2016 21:05:13 GMT -5
So pretty much the verdict here is to spend a lot but don't spend anything. LOL. Always ask questions because its how you learn in this great game but always stay positive and remember there is no one way to win.
|
|
|
Post by Ryan_NatsGM on Oct 17, 2016 23:17:15 GMT -5
I started the around the same time as you did (post-2038 season), and like you've found and Ron said, I don't think there's a concrete answer to exactly how the development budget works. I'm at a point where I'm low budget and more than a couple free agents from competing, so I'm sinking money into it and hoping it helps out a lot.
And I had the same problem you did with my minor leagues being an overrun mess. When I took over I had about 100 players on my Rookie league team, freshly drafted players rotting on my AAA bench, and pretty much every pitcher in my system was in over their head at their current level. I've tried to cut back my roster size to near real life levels (25 for full season leagues, 35 for short season) so everyone actually plays, and sign some filler MiLB pitchers to at least make my affiliates halfway competitive this year for morale purposes. I initially tried to micromanage my minor league lineups too, but I don't really have enough hours in the day to do that, so I just make sure my serious prospects are playing now and stick to promotion/demotion decisions.
I don't know how much that helps, but hopefully there are some good ideas in there. Experienced players, please feel free to let me know if I'm making any mistakes.
|
|
|
Post by Peter - Boston Red Sox on Oct 18, 2016 10:04:59 GMT -5
I started the around the same time as you did (post-2038 season), and like you've found and Ron said, I don't think there's a concrete answer to exactly how the development budget works. I'm at a point where I'm low budget and more than a couple free agents from competing, so I'm sinking money into it and hoping it helps out a lot. And I had the same problem you did with my minor leagues being an overrun mess. When I took over I had about 100 players on my Rookie league team, freshly drafted players rotting on my AAA bench, and pretty much every pitcher in my system was in over their head at their current level. I've tried to cut back my roster size to near real life levels (25 for full season leagues, 35 for short season) so everyone actually plays, and sign some filler MiLB pitchers to at least make my affiliates halfway competitive this year for morale purposes. I initially tried to micromanage my minor league lineups too, but I don't really have enough hours in the day to do that, so I just make sure my serious prospects are playing now and stick to promotion/demotion decisions. I don't know how much that helps, but hopefully there are some good ideas in there. Experienced players, please feel free to let me know if I'm making any mistakes. Agreed! I am spending so much time micromanaging my minor leagues. This is partially due to my owner expecting my farm system to be in the top 10. But it is pretty time consuming. I like the idea of just focusing on my key guys. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by NickP_Marlins GM on Oct 18, 2016 10:18:08 GMT -5
I always tried to focus on my top 20 prospects being in the right level and then putting above average minor Lg talent around them. Everyone loves to win no matter what level and keeping them happy has to help IMO.
|
|
|
Post by Luc_AZdbacks on Oct 18, 2016 11:19:40 GMT -5
May be crazy to some, but I've never really focused at all on my minor leagues. I would move a top prospect up or down here or there, but for the most part, I let the AI control everything for the minor leagues, and I put a low amount of money into player development...
Of course, I've essentially had no minor league talent the last 8 or so years, so my strategy is probably not working
|
|
|
Post by Tim_GiantsGM on Oct 18, 2016 13:30:56 GMT -5
David and Ron captured my thoughts and then some.
Regarding management of minor leaguers, I would add that if we enabled the ability to view player ratings by league level we would have another means of identifying: a) players who have reached maximum development at a level and who should be promoted, and, b) players who have limited potential and who are the most likely candidates to be released.
For example, a player with a 4*/4* overall rating at the A level should be promoted. A player with a 1*/2* overall rating at the A level most likely will never amount to anything and probably should be released. Note that batting and pitching ratings also change from level to level, which helps a GM evaluate, in depth, the skill level and potential of each player at a given minor league level.
I think the ability to view ratings by league level would be an additional evaluation tool that would be beneficial for each of us.
|
|
|
Post by Commish_Ron on Oct 18, 2016 13:31:57 GMT -5
I started the around the same time as you did (post-2038 season), and like you've found and Ron said, I don't think there's a concrete answer to exactly how the development budget works. I'm at a point where I'm low budget and more than a couple free agents from competing, so I'm sinking money into it and hoping it helps out a lot. And I had the same problem you did with my minor leagues being an overrun mess. When I took over I had about 100 players on my Rookie league team, freshly drafted players rotting on my AAA bench, and pretty much every pitcher in my system was in over their head at their current level. I've tried to cut back my roster size to near real life levels (25 for full season leagues, 35 for short season) so everyone actually plays, and sign some filler MiLB pitchers to at least make my affiliates halfway competitive this year for morale purposes. I initially tried to micromanage my minor league lineups too, but I don't really have enough hours in the day to do that, so I just make sure my serious prospects are playing now and stick to promotion/demotion decisions. I don't know how much that helps, but hopefully there are some good ideas in there. Experienced players, please feel free to let me know if I'm making any mistakes. Agreed! I am spending so much time micromanaging my minor leagues. This is partially due to my owner expecting my farm system to be in the top 10. But it is pretty time consuming. I like the idea of just focusing on my key guys. Thanks. The owner expectation of the farm system is a different animal and easier to measure and manage. Minor league system rankings are shown on the "Top Systems" report. Either in game or here: www.paramountbaseball.net/game/lgreports/news/html/leagues/league_100_top_minor_league_systems.htmlSystems are ranked purely by the measure of how many OSA Top 100 ranked prospects are in your system. You get more points for higher ranked prospects and less for lower. Again, only the top 100 count towards your "score". This is a deeply flawed ranking and does not at all reflect how helpful your minor leagues are going to be to the future of your franchise. I would not recommend focusing too much on this score as a measure of your rebuild. But as far as owner expectations go... Collect top 100 ranked prospects and watch his smile grow.
|
|