This is my first draft... I had the 2nd pick and scored the #1 pitcher. He's 22 years old, 63 ovr proj to be 83 ovr

http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3182755

since he's 22 and already 63 OVR should I start him off in AAA? Or start him off in Rookie League and bump him up 1 league per season?

Thanks in advance

http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3182763

that guy was my 2nd round pick, also 22 but just 59 ovr. Curious where I should start him too.

rookie ball or low A...there's no reason to start a top prospect any higher.

Quote: Originally posted by deanod on 2/20/2010rookie ball or low A...there's no reason to start a top prospect any higher.

better coaching is one reason

i like to start guys in HiA if they'll make the majors quicker...usually all 1st round picks goto HiA for me...

Depends on your coaching.

HiA-full
HiA/AA-partials
AA/AAA-partials
AAA/ML-partials

Would work just fine if you had better coaching in HiA than RL/LoA.

I guess a continuation of this is what is your pattern for promotion over a 3-6yr span to get into the majors?

I like all players on the 40 to be in AAA, have some experience there(50-60 games at least) and ready for a possible call-up. That means they could start in RL or LoA but they probably wouldn't spend full seasons at either level.

I pretty much start most of my guys off at LoA. Rarely do I put anyone in rookie ball. If I didn't have to field a rookie team, I wouldn't. For that reason I try to have good minor league coaches. I would try to pair up my prospects with the best coaching. if you have a really good pitching coach at HiA and your LoA sucks, stick him in HiA

Your best PC, imo, is in High-A. Put him there. He can "handle" AAA but there's no reason to put him there.

I put them in Hi A after looking at which team had the higher PC.

My biggest regret so far is not hiring better coaches at the lower levels... didnt realize how much of an impact they have.

My general rule is

0 years-rookie
1 year- low A
2 year-High A
3 years-AA
4+ years-AAA

This only applies to players I think are potential major leaguers. If you are not a potential major league I don't care where you play.

The other exception is if I sign a Intl player before rookie ball, I will then start him at the Low A level.

Bad coaching at a particular level can also have a effect on my decision.

I know it most likely doesn't have an effect, but i like seeing players succeed... so i'm slow with promotions, i'd rather a guy dominate high A for a full year than struggle at AA just so he is closer to the majors...

I think it depends on coaching and whether it's a pitcher or position player. I'll start pitchers a little lower than I would a hitter. I actually started my #20 overall pick in AA (a hitter) and he raked. His ratings were already fringe ML for a middle of the pack team. He'll either repeat the level or probably do 2 years in AAA, plus 20 or so games the following season...

Don't be married to full seasons at each level. You have 5 minor league levels, and no matter how patient you are with a guy, he's not going to be improving much by season 5. So if you start him at HiA and promote 1 level/yr, you'll get most of your improvement out of him before he hits the Bigs withour repeating a level. If you start him lower, you can split 1 or more seasons between 2 levels. And it's not a big deal if a guy needs a season and a half at AAA.

The one thing never to do is demote a hot prospect, so don't start him higher than you're going to be comfortable with. There's nothing wrong with starting him at RL and having him touch RL, LoA, and HiA in the same season. There is something wrong with starting him at HiA and then wishing you'd put him at LoA.

thanks for the advice. I started both my top 2 pitching draft picks at Hi A... plan to keep them there all year, then AA next yer and AAA for their 3rd years. Hopefully they both develop and can join my big league squad in the same season