Two questions ---

1) Even if a young minor leaguer is ready for the majors, do you still make them hit each level before you call them up for the bonus boost in stats?

2) Is there a benefit to waiting until games start to call someone up, or is it ok to promote in off-season?

I do my promotions after the minor league playoffs (during the ML playoffs).

That way, the prospect gets a "promotion" boost and gets to work with better minor league coaches in the offseason.

I'm always a "win now" guy and I bring prospects up to the majors as soon as they are ready. The only exception would be if I wouldn't be able to get them ABs or innings. I take over teams all the time with all-stars sitting in the minors, I can never figure out why.

Posted by keithjs on 2/7/2021 5:14:00 PM (view original):
I'm always a "win now" guy and I bring prospects up to the majors as soon as they are ready. The only exception would be if I wouldn't be able to get them ABs or innings. I take over teams all the time with all-stars sitting in the minors, I can never figure out why.

this. Promote them to the majors when you will use them and they can help you win.

depends on your window for winning. some times it makes sense to keep a guy in minors if you're not contending, to keep his service clock from starting and his arbitration salaries lower.

Depends on the context of the question, your philosophy as an owner and where you are in your build. I typically don't want to give a player a free year of control if he isn't mlb ready so i will typically keep him down if he isn't mlb ready. Other owners differ.

If the guy is 18 and is going to be an absolute stud, you should probably start him in HiA or AA or in some cases AAA.

If the guy is 18 and is an average to above average player, I usually start him in rookie ball and slow cook him until he is ready for MLB ball. This way, you can take full advantage of year end promotions and make sure he gets every bump possible. There are owners that believe that if you put a guy in HiA or AA and he isn't ready for it, it stunts his growth. Also, the player's guide reads this as well so i would say that you need to be careful with above average players.

With all of the above being said, there are exceptions -- if your MLB team stinks and the prospect is a better player than the guy you have in the MLB, it is nearly always best to play him in the majors (as long as he will be a full time player) because there are better coaches at the MLB level and as long as he gets playing time, he should develop fine. An exception to this would be if you are not a winning team. No need to give him a free year of control.

A lot of unknowns in your scenario, but it depends on the situation. I will skip a level, but depends on the player.

If you are rebuilding and your prospect is close, I would keep him in the minors. If you think you might contend and your prospect is a stud, you might want to wait until the 20-game mark to get the extra year. Expecting a tight battle in the division? Bring him up right away if he is a difference-maker.

For the extra year of control (Kris Bryant style), wait until the 20th minor league day is over, then promote to the big leagues. If you're asking when the best time to promote minor leavers for the season-end promotion bump, I have seen the best results when I promote right after game 1 of the World Series.

I usually promote minor league players from the lower levels only if their going to be coached by a coach with better patience... seems to be paying off in the leagues I’m rebuilding in