Bringing up prospects Topic

Hey guys. Six seasons of HBD and zero winning seasons. I have some guys in the minors that are better than my ML guys but I fear bringing them up. What should I do? Looking to get more competitive. The guys are:
Bum Harper, Bubba Burns, and Freddy Tanaka.

How much will it hurt their progress to get them up now?
4/18/2010 1:49 PM
The most important factor is whether or not they're gonna play.

Burns and Tanaka are already good enough to pitch for most teams, so I'd assume that on your team they'll get regular jobs for season 16 and continue to develop.

Harper's a bit of a tweener - his range is a bit limited for SS, so you'll eventually have to decide if you a good hitting / mediocre fielding SS, or a good fielding / ok hitting 3B. In either case - if you've got no one better, go ahead and promote.
4/18/2010 2:36 PM
Harper is still developing his defence. For the sake of your franchise leave him in the minors to develop his glove until he is close to hitting full projections in that area.

Burns needs to work on his control, he would not have much success in the ML at this point and it is in your best interest to leave him in the minors so he hits arbitration later and you will have him for longer at a peak level with lower salary.

Tanaka does not have close to enough experience and even if he is better than what you have, it's better to have patience with him and let him get closer to his projections.

As long as your guys are developing at a steady incline don't rush them. The best strategy is to give your guys 3-4 seasons in the minors, one at each level above rookie. As long as they are progressing, keep to this strategy but if they level off you can make a move. With IFA's you may promote quicker but you shouldn't rush guys just because they are slightly better than what you have now.
4/18/2010 9:42 PM
Quote: Originally Posted By timf on 4/18/2010

Harper is still developing his defence. For the sake of your franchise leave him in the minors to develop his glove until he is close to hitting full projections in that area.

Harper is never going to be an average fielding shortstop - his true ceiling is 3B, and his glove is just fine for that.

Quote: Originally Posted By timf on 4/18/2010


Burns needs to work on his control, he would not have much success in the ML at this point and it is in your best interest to leave him in the minors so he hits arbitration later and you will have him for longer at a peak level with lower salary.

69 control is fine for a major leaguer. While it's always nice to have better control, Burns's splits compensate for lack of outstanding control and he has more than enough to contribute in MLB right now.

Quote: Originally Posted By timf on 4/18/2010


Tanaka does not have close to enough experience and even if he is better than what you have, it's better to have patience with him and let him get closer to his projections.

The HBD game engine doesn't factor in experience when simulating games - the only thing that matters are current ratings. Development can be affected by bad experiences, such as lack of PT or playing at an inappropriate level. Tanaka is good enough to play at the ML level. As long as he plays regularly he'll be fine.

Quote: Originally Posted By timf on 4/18/2010


As long as your guys are developing at a steady incline don't rush them. The best strategy is to give your guys 3-4 seasons in the minors, one at each level above rookie. As long as they are progressing, keep to this strategy but if they level off you can make a move. With IFA's you may promote quicker but you shouldn't rush guys just because they are slightly better than what you have now.

Hogwash.

Potential stars and superstars in HBD are no different than in RL: they can contribute and/or star before they fully develop.

Players don't stop developing in MLB; they stop developing when they get older or abused at an inappropriate level for their current ratings.

If the orignal poster wants to put the best team he can on the field, then there's no reason why he can't promote these 3 players. Playing the waiting game and trying to get maximum benefit by timing contracts and free agency is also a legitimate consideration - but the pros and cons of such a strategy are not relevant to a discussion of whether or not a given prospect can be promoted.
4/19/2010 6:03 AM
Bring them up if you are going to give them steady playing time. They will continue to develop on your ML team, unless your coaches are complete morons
4/19/2010 6:39 AM
One of the keys to getting advice is making sure the person giving it is qualified. I'd recommend checking their record.
4/19/2010 7:00 AM
Thanks, carnivore. I was about to blow a circuit breaker when I read that post above - nice job saying everything that needed to be said.

carnivore +1
4/19/2010 7:43 AM
Quote: Originally Posted By soxfan121 on 4/19/2010carnivore +
4/19/2010 7:54 AM


carnivore - If the orignal poster wants to put the best team he can on the field, then there's no reason why he can't promote these 3 players. Playing the waiting game and trying to get maximum benefit by timing contracts and free agency is also a legitimate consideration - but the pros and cons of such a strategy are not relevant to a discussion of whether or not a given prospect can be promoted.

Actually that is the basis for what I am trying to say. Sure those guys can probably be promoted and contribute something to an ML team right away but why rush them? The baseline for any good analysis, "will this combination of moves give me a shot at a WS?" If the answer is no, leave thsoe guys in the minors to develop further until you can get some talent to play with them.
4/19/2010 8:22 AM
That would explain your record. You hold players until you feel you have team loaded with stars thus giving you a self-perceived chance at the WS.

Nonetheless, as you know, only two teams can make the WS. So shouldn't the baseline be "Will their promotions give me a shot at the playoffs?" And, depending on the world, it might be "Will their promotions give me a shot at .500?" Because, in my mind, playing .500 gives you a shot at the playoffs. A .500 with a break here and there can end up with 86-87 wins. And that gets you in the playoffs in balanced worlds. And, once you're in the playoffs, you have a shot at the WS.
4/19/2010 9:15 AM
Quote: Originally Posted By timf on 4/19/2010

carnivore - If the orignal poster wants to put the best team he can on the field, then there's no reason why he can't promote these 3 players. Playing the waiting game and trying to get maximum benefit by timing contracts and free agency is also a legitimate consideration - but the pros and cons of such a strategy are not relevant to a discussion of whether or not a given prospect can be promoted.

Actually that is the basis for what I am trying to say. Sure those guys can probably be promoted and contribute something to an ML team right away but why rush them? The baseline for any good analysis, "will this combination of moves give me a shot at a WS?" If the answer is no, leave thsoe guys in the minors to develop further until you can get some talent to play with them.

He wanted to know if promoting them would hurt their development. I disagree with your analysis and believe that the answer to that question is "no".

Moving on ... The question that you now want to address is whether always putting the best possible team on the field is a good strategy for eventually winning the WS. It is indeed an interesting question ... just not the one that the man asked.
4/19/2010 9:21 AM
Quote: Originally posted by timf on 4/19/2010The baseline for any good analysis, "will this combination of moves give me a shot at a WS?" If the answer is no, leave thsoe guys in the minors to develop further until you can get some talent to play with them.
Isn't there a benefit to promoting guys you hope will be starters on a contender before acquiring the talent to go along with them? I'd rather find out my potential major league starter can't hit in my park or can't hit major league pitching before deciding what holes are most in need of filling. In my few seasons of HBD, I've been taking my top prospects and waiting until they've hit 20 days in the minors, then promoting them to see how they perform in the big leagues.
4/19/2010 11:17 AM
Thanks to all opinions. Thank you especially to carnivore who is on my league.
4/19/2010 11:42 AM
Josh, I'm not sure that's such a great way to go about it either. If a player is still developing, you can't say "He'll never hit for me"(excluding small sample size reasoning altogether) after 100 games of playing time as he's not the player he's going to be.
4/19/2010 11:52 AM
Bringing up prospects Topic

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