As we all know, some owners choose to run bare-bones minor league teams in order to save every cent possible for budget transfers.

A team I co-manage recently played a four game AAA series against such an owner's team.  He is using only three pitchers, in every game.  Our team scored 98 runs in four games.

Why encourage healthy minor leagues when the owner only sees them as being a drag on his personal major league success?  Well, as we also know, a world goes to crap when all its minor league players are being recycled, eaten up, and destroyed by misuse.  Eventually the world runs out of players to sign, and these guys aren't signing their draftees because they cost too many nickels and dimes.  Plus, game scores like 34-5 are worthless.

Sure, some owners are going to say "hey, I don't have time to manage six rosters."  Fine.  Don't penalize them.

Why can't we do something to reward healthy minor leagues?

My co-manager suggested something like this: 
1/  You have to sign a minimum number of prospects (draft plus IFA, not tryout players) to be eligible for DiTRs.
2/  Establish tighter roster requirements at each minor league level, ie minimum number of pitchers / position players.

3/  Bump up one or two DiTRs so that teams who do maintain minors are rewarded by adding true potential major league talent.  This adds a new talent stream which is not dependent on early first round draft choices or high dollar IFAs... a new talent stream independent of tanking strategy.

This also has the real life imagery that a DiTR player would come from a system that invests in its minors.  Hey, imagine, you 'd get something for investing your money.

Just an idea.  But anything to fix minor league play.

 

I agree something should be done to require every team at every level to send reasonable players out there every game.  Reasonable in both rest and position.

The "I don't have time" excuse is BS.  If enough players who can reasonably play at enough positions are signed, Simmy can run the MinL teams.

GMs that run crap MinL teams are either trying to save money or just don't care.

Blocking DITR would not be hard to code.  If more than a certain number of players take the field playing a position Simmy doesn't think they should play or with rest below a certain number, no DITR for that team.  Would need to move DITR to the end of the season for this to work.  Would not be hard to make a page with a counter everyone could see.

As you said, DITR would have to matter more than they do now.  At least 1-2 every 1-2 seasons.

I strongly disagree there should be any difference between draft picks, IFA, and tryout camp players.  A player is a player.  If the has the def numbers to play a position, why nitpick beyond that?

I don' think there's any way for a # of players by position requirement to work. There are position players and pitchers with very low DUR/STM / Health.  Having a pitching staff of 10 of them doesn't address the 0(0) issue.  It does address the money issue.

I have no problem with someone being smart enough to stack a MinL team with high DUR / STM / Health players and having fewer than 25 players at that level.  I'm pretty sure others disagree.