I just received a prospect in a trade. I'm a few years away from contention and I want to keep him in the minors as long as possible (this is a BL caliber player theoretically). If I assign him to a lower level than where he was before the trade will his ratings drop like when you normally demote someone?

Also, somewhat related, but how much does knowing when to promote someone factor into development? If they stay in the same level for more than one year will that stunt their development? 

Put him with your best MiLB coaching.  And don't forget, you get 10 years of control out of a guy...so don't be shy about moving him up.

Not promoting a guy after he has spent two seasons at the same level will raise the likelihood that he retires  Patience also plays a role in how likely he is to do so.
If I have a legit prospect that I know will make the BL I promote him every season.
Other than that I don't think it matters too much.
I generally promote at season's end

As to your first question, I am not 100% certain so I hesitate to answer, but I am pretty sure the answer is no, it does not count as a "real" demotion. Hopefully someone will back me on this or correct me on this.

Couple other things? Does it matter what position you play the guy?Like if you play a guy at SS will his fielding skills develop more than say at 3b (which is where I'd play him in the BL, but I'm trying to get his defense as good as possible?)

ALso how do you get it so that the manager won't constantly mess up your minor pitching rotations when you are trying to get certain prospects the most playing time possible? I spend all this time adjusting lineups and such, and then the manager will change it all back in between cycles.. 

Manager's Office, Management Console

Uncheck AI manage for that level. 

Posted by MikeT23 on 3/1/2013 8:41:00 AM (view original):
Manager's Office, Management Console

Uncheck AI manage for that level. 

Thanks.

Could you also explain how development works in regards to what position you play them at? (the other question in the previous post).

Appreciate all the help!

I don't think it matters.  Others disagree.

Even if you play someone as a DH, they 'll still develop defensively? Or only if you play them in the field, then they will develop defensively, but it doesn't matter what position?

IMO, it doesn't matter.   Briefly, if you have no future SS at LoA but a stud hitting 1B who's weak in the field, you'd play the 1B at SS to fully develop his fielding ability as SS is the toughest position.   It makes ZERO sense to me that the developers would produce a game that would encourage that.

I have a guy DHing for most of the year, and his defense is developing. whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx

Mike T....
so are you saying that HBD does that, or does not do that?

I agree that it makes no sense to encourage that, because everybody would put their best hitting prospects at SS to get the most development out of their defense...

I don't think the position where you play your prospects matters.

I posted 6-7 players who developed into legit SS on one of my teams quite some time ago.  One of the best played 2B/3B/CF more than SS in the minors.  

Another random question.

Do attributes like power, and stamina for pitching only develop over the offseason and not during the season? I probably just haven't seen enough cards yet, but every player I've cehcekd out recently like (20-30 prospects) no one was developing these skills during the in season cycles.

Also how many in season cycles are there? And why do some players have more in season cycles than others despite equal playing time? 

Physical ratings, such as power, speed, durability, arm strength, range, stamina and velocity only improve between seasons, not during the season. Those are the ratings that improve dependent on your training budget.

well **** I have only $10 mil in my training budget this season..... I wish you could transfer money into all budgets during the season..