How important are HCs at the ML level?

Fielding is very important as it’s the only ML coach that affects your minors prospect development. Outside of that, not all that important IMO. If my fielding coach is willing to re-sign (usually @750k-ish), I can usually afford to sign all my ML coaches for less than 6M if I wait until the last coach signing period (many coaches lower they’re asking price at the end) and offer the remaining guys 1/2 of what they’re asking. The guys that are left are usually in the 80-85 range. As long as you’re not playing coaches out of position you’ll be okay and I’d be fine with ML coaches as low as the mid 70s.

It depends on how old/experienced your players are. If you like your ML team to be comprised of experienced veterans, they are going to develop very little, if at all. So the coaches don't matter. But if you like to get your young potential All-Stars/HOFers up to the majors as soon as possible, you want good coaches up there.

And as brianp said, the fielding instructor is important regardless, because they coach all of your organization's levels. That's why you'll often see FIs go for $3M or more.

Thanks for the advice!

Posted by brianplath on 7/2/2023 4:00:00 PM (view original):
Fielding is very important as it’s the only ML coach that affects your minors prospect development. Outside of that, not all that important IMO. If my fielding coach is willing to re-sign (usually @750k-ish), I can usually afford to sign all my ML coaches for less than 6M if I wait until the last coach signing period (many coaches lower they’re asking price at the end) and offer the remaining guys 1/2 of what they’re asking. The guys that are left are usually in the 80-85 range. As long as you’re not playing coaches out of position you’ll be okay and I’d be fine with ML coaches as low as the mid 70s.

I'm with brian on this one although I'm fine with having coaches out of position. Another secret I'm not sure I want to share but hitting coaches often make great 3B or 1B coaches.

All of the above is accurate -- if you're going to skimp, do it in mlb coaching. The FI is huge, though. Make sure to have a decent FI.

However, I will say that mlb coaching is bit underrated. Most veteran owners partake in the skimping in two things -- 1. Advanced scouting; 2. Mlb coaching staff. Since successful veteran owners have a tendency to skimp on mlb coaching budgets, you can sometimes get higher end mlb coaches by spending just a little bit more. This can have a non-zero-effect on overall player development that many hbd players don't think about. Because of the incremental nature of development, the higher end mlb coaches might get you an extra point or two from spring training bumps. Add that one or two points up over three or four seasons and you could have an entire team where every player is slightly more developed than the benchmark.

Again, everyone has their own strategy and I haven't changed mine in years.

Things I cut budget on:

Advanced scouting
Coaches (except fielding instructors)
International scouting


Things I spend way too much on:
Free agents
North American scouting and prospects
Medical