Would it stunt my players growth to have them repeat AAA? I want my guys to start out in high A then do AA and 2 trips in AAA because they have better position coaches. Just nervous a double stint in AAA would hurt his progression. 

Kind of, but by their 4th pro season... I'd say the development is 95% complete.

I suppose I'll ask you to prove your "kind of" because I've not seen it to be true.

MikeT, so you are saying that would be the best way to go?

I have players repeat levels, once, and I see no development problems.  I can post dozens, if not hundreds, of examples. 

I'd like to see a few examples, with good coaching, where repeating a level jacked a player's development.

Took me about 10 seconds to find a guy who spent the better part of THREE seasons in HiA.    He's a defensive SS but I'll need someone to show me an irregular development pattern.

Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Russell Forster

Seems to me there have been a few threads worrying about properly developing players. Doesn't it just come down to good coaching, playing time, and not demoting them? There are good reasons to repeat a level - maybe a player is blocked, or you want to see more performance from them before promotion. Why would such situations stop development?

Reading through the players guide, the people who run the game have said that age appropriate was for a level is a factor in development. So a 23 year old probably wouldn't do so well if he repeated Low A, for example. But the problem isn't that he repeated a level; it's that he was too old for the level to begin with.

It's a combination of things.   The physical development is tied solely to training(unless the ol' medical bug comes into play).   Glove/arm accuracy is playing time and fielding instructor.   Contact/splits/eye are tied to playing time and hitting instructor.   And, as article points out, age makes a difference.  It's dumb to put a 22 y/o draftee in rookie then progress him one season at a time(making him a 26 y/o in AAA). 

My example of Forster was a bit disingenuous as he was never going to be much of a hitter so most of his development was going to be tied to my FI.   Nonetheless, I was using him to prove a point.   His development pattern fits perfectly.   It's as if I started him in LoA and moved him up one level at a time. 

But, in my experience, repeating a level doesn't change the pattern.  I treat RL/LoA/HiA pretty much the same.    A player could start at any of them and repeat it the next season based on coaching.   They could be promoted to AA in their 2nd full season but, if my AA coaching sucks, they may go straight to AAA or repeat HiA.   If promoted to AA in 2nd full, they are on track for AAA in 3rd full but, if AAA coaching sucks or if playing time is blocked, they may repeat AA.   I just haven't seen any evidence that I'm hurting development.    Pretty much all of them follow the 50% rule(half as much as the season before). 

Mike, I took over a team where the previous owner drafted a college player (1B) with the 9th overall pick in the draft at age 20.
Now he is 21, and I have him in Low A. To maximize his potential, is it dumb to progress him one season at a time, (making him a 24 year old in AAA), or should I progress him through the minors quickly (perhaps move him up a level as my coaches tell me he is doing great at a particluar level as they do from time to time), so that he can be my ML 1B at age 22/23, when my high school draftees usually arrive?
I am rebuilding, so I can truly wait as long as it takes for the potential to be maximized ;-)
Thanks for elaborating on this post from 4 months back...
JRNY

Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Nicholas Byrd

I'd probably move him to AA at some point this season(assuming coaching is better).   Let him play half a season in AA next year then promote him to AAA.  Then he'll be 23 and in AAA.   At that point, you can decide if he's ready to be your BL 1B.   I think he will.    If you call him up after 20 games(a strategy I hate) you'll have control of him until thru up until he's 34(playing as a 33 y/o for you).  Then his decline will have already started.

That's what I call a long-term plan.   However, you've only played in one world for 10 consecutive seasons so maybe that doesn't apply to you.  If you don't think you'll be around 13-14 seasons, bring him up to the majors when he's your best option.

I almost always put the guys who will likely play at the ml level in aa or aaa only. This means they will play multiple seasons at those levels and I think it helps since that is were the best coaches are.

Does anyone else like to promote at the end of the season? I typically start good prospects at High A. So after the draft, they'll get a ratings update at about game 90 and about game 120, and that's usually all they get if not promoted. But after the second update, they play at least 20 more games (more if the High A team makes the playoffs). The only way to get another update that season is to promote them at the end of the season. So my first round draft picks usually enter the offseason on the AA roster.

I don't know what happens if I don't promote. Since skill ratings don't improve in the offseason, it seems to me the 20+ games of development would be wasted if I don't promote them. But I'm not sure if that's true or not.

I like to promote anyone even semi-worthwhile at the end of the year so that they don't retire. Obviously not true with great prospects but still effective.