Thanks for all the great thoughts in this thread.
I am new to the game and started with a Marlins system in a shambles. I'm "learning on the job" so to speak. After the amateur draft I spent hours meticulously going through my entire farm system, culling the chaff and moving guys where I thought they fit and would get playing time.
I just got my first player development update on July 1... seeing those red "-"s drive me nuts! I think there are a lot more green "+"s but you know what I mean.
I don't understand some of the seemingly odd movements either. One guy had his potential contact go up by 5, potential power go up by 5 and potential eye go up by 10.. and his overall potential rating drop from 2.5 to 1 star. ??? My scout, who was very up on the guy before, now thinks he's junk. Is there some hidden meaning to this I just can't see?
It is fun to develop a farm system basically from scratch.. though pretty intimidating as well. I don't really trust the AI, especially with the many two-ways and "converted" players I have.... and there's a lot of guys. Plus I keep signing guys off the FA list. I signed a guy last week and he made player of the week his first week, feels nice.