I need to completely overhaul my minors too, I just haven't had time to sit down and do major changes. That will happen in the next sim. Only gotten to ask AI to set it up and I don't like what they've done
Can anyone explain better to me the difference between like, Short-Season A and Gulf Coast Leagues? Does it really matter where I put these dudes as long as they get playing time?
I know obviously, it's AAA--->AA--->A--->???
I mean shit, I've got two Single A teams.
One thing I use is if you click on your team name on the top menu, then go to Player Info and choose Minor League System report you'll get a text based report that says which guys might be or should be promoted and which guys should or should not be demoted.
In terms of leagues AAA is mostly the home to guys who are extended ML depth, older guys who aren't really prospects, quad A dudes etc. To a lesser extent top prospects but these days a lot go from AA to MLB.
AA is of course then where a lot of the advanced and most skilled prospects go.
A ball is where younger, advanced players can often end up, generally guys who are like 20-21 and not developed enough for AA but are clearly not being challenged in the rookie leagues. In real life there is some amount of difference between the varying A-Ball leagues (the California league tends to be a lot more hitter friendly due to smaller parks and warmer weather for example). How much that carries over into OOTP I can't say.
Short Season A is usually where I put guys who are recent draftees that are a little older, or guys who have struggled in A ball.
My personal strategy is using a combo of the Player Info report and checking guys stats, like if a hitter is just destroying a league then I will move him up a level to challenge him. Things I tend to look at for this for hitters are walk rate, strike out rate, ops and babip. Same sort of thing for pitchers, like if a guy has a low era but isn't really striking a lot of guys out and my scout doesn't say he is ready then I won't move him up. But if he's getting more than a strike out an inning and his walk rate isn't obscene I'll give him a shot at the next level.
I also personally try to prioritize playing time for guys with potential at the lower levels. But I've seen guys with no potential hit well for a prolonged period and the next scouting update their potential changes so yeah.