Are there generally recommended age ranges for the various levels of the minors? More specifically, what ages are too old to be played at Rookie and Lo/Hi-A without ruffling feathers in your league?

I've never heard anyone say "He's too old to be in Rookie Ball!!!"

I generally go by years of service, and not necessarily by age:

0 years = RL
1 year = LoA
2 years = HiA
3 years = AA
4+ years = AAA

Good prospects can go ahead of this schedule if you feel the need to get them to the majors quicker.

My observation if you fall more than 1 season behind this schedule, you raise the risk of retirement.

Thx for the responses. In our Foxx league, there are some 30 year olds playing in the RL. I thought that was a little weird/unnecessary.

I try to have a RL roster that is full and has all positions covered. To do this, I will usually have one or two older free agents. I don't expect them to do anything beyond that one season, but they aren't taking the space of anyone with actual potential, and they are better than the pure rookies after the draft or I wouldn't sign them.

Part of the problem with playing 30 year olds in RL is that if you don't promote them to AAA or release them at the end of the season, they will most likely retire.

Many worlds have a severe shortage of minor league position players on the FA market. I've been in some worlds that don't have any. Zero. This is due to a number of reasons, all of which come down to owner indifference or misuse. Playing guys at a lower level than should be expected for their years of experience is the biggest cause of minor league retirements. Combine that with many owners not signing their late round draft picks, you have a situation where the minor league position player pool is being depleted and not replenished.

Quote: Originally Posted By opie100 on 3/17/2010Thx for the responses. In our Foxx league, there are some 30 year olds playing in the RL. I thought that was a little weird/unnecessary

the 30-year old in rookie ball is obviously not ever going to see the majors...he is just a filler because the owner didnt have enough players so he was signed for cheap...or he is simply a guy who hasnt retired yet and was demoted to have enough players in rookie ball...it happens...

Or he was placed there to help make the RL team win regardless of impact on development, which is kinda yucky.

I've never come across anyone who made a concerted effort to make their rookie team win. It's most likely a result of sheer laziness, of which we've all been guilty from time to time.

I don't think it matters. Players only develop by getting playing time. Playing a 30 y/o in Rookie takes away P/T from guys who need it. Now it may help him reach the playoffs where you'll get more development time but it's only one team. 12 of them make the playoffs.

Also, I know which world opie is in. A lot of teams were short on minor leaguers due to previous mismanagement. If you wanted to field a full team, you had to sign what was available and place them where they were needed.

In Branch Rickey, where we have a prospect budget cap of $20M, I've ended up with ~$2M or more in player payroll going unused - so I sign guys demanding ML contracts and an option remaining and then use them to backfill when I do promotions. After the season ends, I promote these guys back to AA or AAA and inactivate them.

I also budget ~$2M into my player payroll budget because on Day 1 of FA, I make sure to offer jobs to the best minor league FAs available. And I pay no attention to their age when I assign them - if the 30 year RP has splits in the high 20s, 50s control and crappy pitches, he's going to LoA.

I have no problem playing "ringers" in RL; I'll admit to wanting my RL (and all minor league teams) to win as many games as possible and advance as far as possible in the playoffs. The possible extra development cycle for reaching the LCS/WS is valuable to me.

Quote: Originally posted by tecwrg on 3/17/2010Part of the problem with playing 30 year olds in RL is that if you don't promote them to AAA or release them at the end of the season, they will most likely retire.Many worlds have a severe shortage of minor league position players on the FA market.  I've been in some worlds that don't have any.  Zero.  This is due to a number of reasons, all of which come down to owner indifference or misuse.  Playing guys at a lower level than should be expected for their years of experience is the biggest cause of minor league retirements.  Combine that with many owners not signing their late round draft picks, you have a situation where the minor league position player pool is being depleted and not replenished.

I sign almost 100% of my draft picks, although the best of them are usually placed above RL. The only older players I add to my RL roster are bums that no one else wants, who might have a decent glove to help out my rookie pitchers, or who are pitchers that can pick up occasional innings. By the time I sign these guys, the season is halfway done ... if they were useful to anyone, they wouldn't be free agents. I don't consider doing this to be either misuse or indifference.

OTOH, as I look at my current rookie roster, I don't have anyone over the age of 22, so I may just be theorizing here.

Quote: Originally Posted By tecwrg on 3/17/2010

Part of the problem with playing 30 year olds in RL is that if you don't promote them to AAA or release them at the end of the season, they will most likely retire.

Many worlds have a severe shortage of minor league position players on the FA market. I've been in some worlds that don't have any. Zero. This is due to a number of reasons, all of which come down to owner indifference or misuse. Playing guys at a lower level than should be expected for their years of experience is the biggest cause of minor league retirements. Combine that with many owners not signing their late round draft picks, you have a situation where the minor league position player pool is being depleted and not replenished.

I personally have never seen a situation where there were not enough position players to stock the MiL. I usually resign most of my MiL FAs before they hit the open market and so do not need a lot of filler, usually just a few positions and some pitchers. But you can always hit tryout camp to fill low minors or sign som $50K IFAs who would do just fine there. I will usually sign some low $$ type IFAs at the end of the season if I have a couple of $100K over to help stock my MiL for the following season. Better than letting the $$ go to waste. You can't take it with you.

Today I recommend to WIS to add the following service time requirements to more closely emulate MiLB rules and prevent unrealistic behavior in HBD minor leagues:

HiA - no more than two players with over five pro years
LowA - no more than two players with over four pro years
Rookie – no player may have over two pro years

Not sure what will become of them but they should't be overly difficult to implement.