I've played too long not to know this one, but I can't find it in the forums....

How many games should you leave a prospect in the minors at the start of a season if you want to keep him from getting the full year of service time -  pushing his arbitration eligibilty back a year?

I wait 20 games.

I wait for 21 games to be completed at the minor league level.

It's 20 days, not games.  I can't remember if it's minor league or major league days, however.

I have a rule of thumb that works 100% of the time. Find the day that your AAA season begins, then call up your prospect exactly one calendar week later.

For example, if my AAA season starts on the AM cycle of September 1, I can call em up to play on the AM cycle of September 8. I don't have to count numbers or try to remember if it's days or games or anything. Just wait exactly one week.

Posted by deanod on 9/13/2010 6:43:00 PM (view original):
It's 20 days, not games.  I can't remember if it's minor league or major league days, however.

20 days at the minor league level. I wait for 21 days to have been completed to avoid a potential misreading of the rule. After that, he gets the free season.