Broken Bat - Help: Developing prospects

Forum >> Help >> Developing prospects

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date	Function

#35919	06/21/2016 8:34:12 am
Dan6176 Joined: 04/30/2016 Posts: 254 Inactive	What are some of your opinions on how long to let a prospect play in the minors if he isn't meeting your expectations? I want to give my players a chance, but I don't want them taking up space. I have just completed my first season, so I am still new. I was thinking at least two seasons with a minimum of 450 ABs or 160 innings. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

#35921	06/21/2016 8:39:58 am
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2237 New York Lancers V.4	I think the idea is to leave prospects down as long as you can, until they 'get the call'. Getting some of the higher specs some AB in the bigs at the end of a season seems like the way to go, but given both my two seasons have gone down to the wire I haven't had the chance to do so myself!

#35927	06/21/2016 9:50:57 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	What amalric said. The game is designed so that some prospects need longer in the minors than others, and so that the scout's recommendation will get the players the optimal training. Trying to find a one size fits all approach as to the amount of time they are kept at a level other than following the scout's recommendation will fail due to the way the game is designed. If a player seems to be taking too long or doesn't seem to be developing that is one of the indicators that you should probably cut him and look elsewhere.

#35931	06/21/2016 10:42:26 am
Dan6176 Joined: 04/30/2016 Posts: 254 Inactive	I guess other factors must be considered in my decision to keep a player or not. Depth of my roster and my needs in the majors are probably important factors when deciding to keep a player longer.

#35936	06/21/2016 11:26:50 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I have never let the needs of my major league squad any given season let me make a decision that would hurt my long term player development plans, then again that is just the way I play, with the mindset that there is always next season. That could just be me though.

#35945	06/21/2016 2:01:48 pm
Tiger504 Joined: 06/17/2014 Posts: 1314 Kalamazoo Bloody Tigers III.4	@Dan - I understand your question to be "how long do I evaluate a player before I feel comfortable cutting him?" Is that the correct interpretation? If so, there is only so much usable data in minor league stats. However, you do need to give them some time to let that data have meaning. More data is more useful. I would say if you think someone is borderline prior to having data, you give them less time. If you think someone might be really good, then more time and more data. No knee jerk reactions to what may be a slump. With regards to slow skill development, some are just slow starters and some are just slow period. Updated Tuesday, June 21 2016 @ 2:04:09 pm PDT

#35960	06/21/2016 6:01:20 pm
Dan6176 Joined: 04/30/2016 Posts: 254 Inactive	Tiger, that was a correct interpretation. I don't want to make a lot of mistakes with player developement because I understand home grown players are cheaper in the long run. I don't want to spend a lot fixing mistakes that could have been avoided with patience.

#35968	06/21/2016 10:45:02 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	In addition to the stats, SI gain is very important as an indicator. If after multiple seasons (3 or 4) in the minors the player is only gaining ~2 or 3 SI per season, he is unlikely to ever turn the corner. While it is quite common for the first season or two to have low SI gains, by the time they are in AA the player should be picking up speed on skill gains. I understand the line of thinking that SI can be misleading, but SI gain is actually a very good indicator to include by season 3 or 4. This is not to say that the stats are useless, but they tend to take a backseat in my evaluations of minor league players.