Minor League Coaching Staffs

Bobfather · 04-17-2022, 01:36 AM

At which minor league levels do you put your best to worst coaches?
I have some excellent down to unproven and trying to figure out which way to disburse them. (Manger, Pitching Coach, Hitting Coach)

r0nster · 04-17-2022, 08:36 AM

for me i put my worst coaches at lowest rung of food chain as it were and the better ones at upper levels. the only exception is keeping coaches on a player who i want to help develop faster. NOT realistic but works well on here. I find that the #1 picks do not flame out as often when i do that. Others might say differently.
The only suggestion is to do what works for you and have fun doing it and you will eventually find what works for your system and style of play. To be honest it took many seasons to figure out my style and be willing to make a change here and there (flexible) in order to win and do not always listen to the owner especially if you get successful. We would love to be able to do that in the real world LOL.
Good luck

redranger · 04-17-2022, 09:58 AM

I don’t look as much at the unproven to experienced as much as targeting coached that work well with prospects versus veterans

Typically my recent drafts and prospects may be at low level particularly if drafted from high school to I try to make sure a coach that can develop and work well with prospects is there to try and maximize the development

At AAA I typically have guys with ML experience so having coaches they work well with veterans is a good spot for them if needed

Really changes over years depending on how my minors cgsnges and progress or regress

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sweed · 04-17-2022, 10:38 AM

I select MiL managers based on what I need at each level. I, like redranger, also tend to not look at experience. Instead I focus on what they can do not how long they have been doing it. If they're good I'm happy to let them "grow" in my organization.

In the "interview" process I pay a lot of attention to how they project to work with the team they will manage. I look at how they would get along with the players and their lineup\rotation choices.

I just hired a "no experience" 41 yr old former player to replace my retiring ACL manager. Really good ratings at development, projects to get along with the players, and have a good influence on them too.

One thing I do is try to have a bit of divergence on my MiL managers "specialties". IOW over the 5 levels I try to have coaches that cover all areas, IE for PC control, gb, power, etc. then same for HC. I don't know if this helps or hurts. I do know that each type of player coming up has at least had one season under a coach that will work with him on his specific style of play.

I guess what I'm getting at is I don't think in the terms of which manager\coach is the "best". I think in the terms of "who is best at each level for what I want them to do".

Pelican · 04-18-2022, 05:22 PM

I figure good "teaching" coaches are less needed at AAA (which includes a lot of MLB veterans and experienced minor leaguers who are likely immune to further teaching), and to some extent, AA. For pitchers, high A is a good place to focus with a patient, experienced well-thought-of pitching coach. For young hitters, maybe a level down, to work with guys right out of college, or teenagers with a year or two in the organization.

One thing I love to do, perhaps a bit of a cheat; although it happens IRL, is to retire veteran players, and then make them available for hire as coaches. This enables me to use some of my favorite guys in the organization. Of course they have no coaching experience or profile, but they seem to carry over some of their experience to the new job.

Birdland24 · 04-18-2022, 06:40 PM

This isn’t about the coaching staff but it relates to developing guys. Can you work a pitchers stamina up by stretching them out?
For example getting a HS SP in draft max out his pitch count at 60 and slowly progress from there? Is that how it works in the game?

Another question is I’ll have a MR with a 50-60 stamina and he’s usually gassed around the 25 pitch mark. Is that by design?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Primary · 04-18-2022, 11:46 PM

in addition to what others have said, one thing I've been doing that I learned somewhere on these forums is to put hitting coaches that specialize in Power in AAA, as Power tends to be the tool that develops last for hitters

sentry85 · 04-19-2022, 09:47 AM

This is an area i have neglected until recently. i would generally choose my mlb staff, but let my assistant gm choose for the minors. i think this was a big mistake and has cost me substantial development. i would also find coaches with great ratings but no experience and add them to my mlb staff, also a mistake. Lately i have been looking for coaches with great rating but no experience and having them develop at the lower minor league levels and moving them up in level as they gain experience. i think this has been working better, but haven't been doing it long enough yet to be sure.

Deeds65 · 05-07-2022, 09:58 AM

Is the manager the only coach that influences fielding in the minors or do hitting & pitching coaches in the minors have any influence on fielding?

Dave Stieb II · 05-07-2022, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deeds65

Is the manager the only coach that influences fielding in the minors or do hitting & pitching coaches in the minors have any influence on fielding?

This is a very good question and something I've wondered about since the coaching system was overhauled in version '22.
Thanks for asking it. Hoping a dev knows the answer.

Biggio509 · 05-07-2022, 12:43 PM

Depends on what you mean by good. To me it is different at each level and if it is manager or PC/HC.

Manager I don't care a lot about in the minors. I don't think they teach and influence development. So it is just about the style they play and relationships. A manager is more about relationships and how he calls the game.

I never really look at roster strategy but it will affect which prospects start for instance if they favor defense over hitting they will start the prospect with better fielding if they have similiar talent with a better hitter.

PC/HC
Ideally you want guys with good teach pitching or hitting and good influences dev and influences mechanics. You often won't get that in the minors. The lower the level, the less salary offered the less likely you are to find that.

High A and above I want teach pitching or hitting first.

Low A and below.

I concentrate more on the dev and mechanics. Most of these guys are pretty bad comparatively especially at Rookie level. So the difference is how they influence dev and mech.

Since these guys are usually bad for Rookie and low A, I go for the youngest guys I can find who have a yellow dev or mech. Coaches can learn in the game so your 40 y/o hitting coach is more likely to get better than a 59 y/o who still is pretty bad. At least logically it does I don't know if the coach learning mechanic decreases probability of rating increases with age.

Biggio509 · 05-07-2022, 12:50 PM

The other point is I don't really put a lot of emphasis on rookie league and low/High A coaches. While I wouldn't just pick randomly it isn't as important. Your top prospects aren't going to spend a lot of time at those levels. They will spend more time in AAA and AA. So I am not going to keep negotiating with some guy for a rookie league level job where my top prospects will work with them a couple months before they are hopefully up in low A by September when the rookie league is over and usually I need some replacements there due to injury. Often your best college prospects will start in low A anyway. So if they isn't much left I don't waste a lot of thought on rookie coaches. The bang for the buck just isn't there because they will handle real prospects for a short time if at all and mostly just deal with minor league filler that will never see AAA much less the majors.

So I don't overspend down at Rookie and often not at low A. If a guy keeps up the valuing I will get the next guy. He isn't going to have the influence on a prospect a AA or AAA coach will have since they might spend 2 or more years developing in AA/AAA or just wanting for a roster spot because my star is going to be gone in a couple of years.

MathBandit · 05-07-2022, 12:57 PM

I always go top-down. The best pitching coach in my org is in MLB, next-best in AAA, etc. Same for manager, hitting coach, and everything else.

The rationale for MLB being the best is presumably self-evident. After that I go level by level from the top, since each level has more future MLB players then the level below it; ie: the pitching coach in AAA will be coaching more of my future MLB pitchers than the one in AA, who will be coaching more of my future pitchers than the one in A+, etc.

05-07-2022, 12:43 PM	#11
Biggio509 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 2,027	Depends on what you mean by good. To me it is different at each level and if it is manager or PC/HC. Manager I don't care a lot about in the minors. I don't think they teach and influence development. So it is just about the style they play and relationships. A manager is more about relationships and how he calls the game. I never really look at roster strategy but it will affect which prospects start for instance if they favor defense over hitting they will start the prospect with better fielding if they have similiar talent with a better hitter. PC/HC Ideally you want guys with good teach pitching or hitting and good influences dev and influences mechanics. You often won't get that in the minors. The lower the level, the less salary offered the less likely you are to find that. High A and above I want teach pitching or hitting first. Low A and below. I concentrate more on the dev and mechanics. Most of these guys are pretty bad comparatively especially at Rookie level. So the difference is how they influence dev and mech. Since these guys are usually bad for Rookie and low A, I go for the youngest guys I can find who have a yellow dev or mech. Coaches can learn in the game so your 40 y/o hitting coach is more likely to get better than a 59 y/o who still is pretty bad. At least logically it does I don't know if the coach learning mechanic decreases probability of rating increases with age. Last edited by Biggio509; 05-07-2022 at 12:54 PM.

05-07-2022, 12:50 PM	#12
Biggio509 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 2,027	The other point is I don't really put a lot of emphasis on rookie league and low/High A coaches. While I wouldn't just pick randomly it isn't as important. Your top prospects aren't going to spend a lot of time at those levels. They will spend more time in AAA and AA. So I am not going to keep negotiating with some guy for a rookie league level job where my top prospects will work with them a couple months before they are hopefully up in low A by September when the rookie league is over and usually I need some replacements there due to injury. Often your best college prospects will start in low A anyway. So if they isn't much left I don't waste a lot of thought on rookie coaches. The bang for the buck just isn't there because they will handle real prospects for a short time if at all and mostly just deal with minor league filler that will never see AAA much less the majors. So I don't overspend down at Rookie and often not at low A. If a guy keeps up the valuing I will get the next guy. He isn't going to have the influence on a prospect a AA or AAA coach will have since they might spend 2 or more years developing in AA/AAA or just wanting for a roster spot because my star is going to be gone in a couple of years. Last edited by Biggio509; 05-07-2022 at 12:53 PM.

04-17-2022, 01:36 AM	#1
Bobfather All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Boston Ma. Posts: 1,579	Minor League Coaching Staffs At which minor league levels do you put your best to worst coaches? I have some excellent down to unproven and trying to figure out which way to disburse them. (Manger, Pitching Coach, Hitting Coach) __________________ I play out every game—one pitch mode.

04-17-2022, 08:36 AM	#2
r0nster Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,047	for me i put my worst coaches at lowest rung of food chain as it were and the better ones at upper levels. the only exception is keeping coaches on a player who i want to help develop faster. NOT realistic but works well on here. I find that the #1 picks do not flame out as often when i do that. Others might say differently. The only suggestion is to do what works for you and have fun doing it and you will eventually find what works for your system and style of play. To be honest it took many seasons to figure out my style and be willing to make a change here and there (flexible) in order to win and do not always listen to the owner especially if you get successful. We would love to be able to do that in the real world LOL. Good luck

04-17-2022, 09:58 AM	#3
redranger All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Posts: 573	I don’t look as much at the unproven to experienced as much as targeting coached that work well with prospects versus veterans Typically my recent drafts and prospects may be at low level particularly if drafted from high school to I try to make sure a coach that can develop and work well with prospects is there to try and maximize the development At AAA I typically have guys with ML experience so having coaches they work well with veterans is a good spot for them if needed Really changes over years depending on how my minors cgsnges and progress or regress Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

04-17-2022, 10:38 AM	#4
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,611	I select MiL managers based on what I need at each level. I, like redranger, also tend to not look at experience. Instead I focus on what they can do not how long they have been doing it. If they're good I'm happy to let them "grow" in my organization. In the "interview" process I pay a lot of attention to how they project to work with the team they will manage. I look at how they would get along with the players and their lineup\rotation choices. I just hired a "no experience" 41 yr old former player to replace my retiring ACL manager. Really good ratings at development, projects to get along with the players, and have a good influence on them too. One thing I do is try to have a bit of divergence on my MiL managers "specialties". IOW over the 5 levels I try to have coaches that cover all areas, IE for PC control, gb, power, etc. then same for HC. I don't know if this helps or hurts. I do know that each type of player coming up has at least had one season under a coach that will work with him on his specific style of play. I guess what I'm getting at is I don't think in the terms of which manager\coach is the "best". I think in the terms of "who is best at each level for what I want them to do".

04-18-2022, 05:22 PM	#5
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 2,896	I figure good "teaching" coaches are less needed at AAA (which includes a lot of MLB veterans and experienced minor leaguers who are likely immune to further teaching), and to some extent, AA. For pitchers, high A is a good place to focus with a patient, experienced well-thought-of pitching coach. For young hitters, maybe a level down, to work with guys right out of college, or teenagers with a year or two in the organization. One thing I love to do, perhaps a bit of a cheat; although it happens IRL, is to retire veteran players, and then make them available for hire as coaches. This enables me to use some of my favorite guys in the organization. Of course they have no coaching experience or profile, but they seem to carry over some of their experience to the new job.

04-18-2022, 06:40 PM	#6
Birdland24 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 283	This isn’t about the coaching staff but it relates to developing guys. Can you work a pitchers stamina up by stretching them out? For example getting a HS SP in draft max out his pitch count at 60 and slowly progress from there? Is that how it works in the game? Another question is I’ll have a MR with a 50-60 stamina and he’s usually gassed around the 25 pitch mark. Is that by design? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

04-18-2022, 11:46 PM	#7
Primary Minors (Single A) Join Date: Mar 2022 Posts: 58	in addition to what others have said, one thing I've been doing that I learned somewhere on these forums is to put hitting coaches that specialize in Power in AAA, as Power tends to be the tool that develops last for hitters

04-19-2022, 09:47 AM	#8
sentry85 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: south Florida Posts: 83	This is an area i have neglected until recently. i would generally choose my mlb staff, but let my assistant gm choose for the minors. i think this was a big mistake and has cost me substantial development. i would also find coaches with great ratings but no experience and add them to my mlb staff, also a mistake. Lately i have been looking for coaches with great rating but no experience and having them develop at the lower minor league levels and moving them up in level as they gain experience. i think this has been working better, but haven't been doing it long enough yet to be sure.

05-07-2022, 09:58 AM	#9
Deeds65 Bat Boy Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 3	Is the manager the only coach that influences fielding in the minors or do hitting & pitching coaches in the minors have any influence on fielding?

05-07-2022, 12:57 PM	#13
MathBandit All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2021 Posts: 1,445	I always go top-down. The best pitching coach in my org is in MLB, next-best in AAA, etc. Same for manager, hitting coach, and everything else. The rationale for MLB being the best is presumably self-evident. After that I go level by level from the top, since each level has more future MLB players then the level below it; ie: the pitching coach in AAA will be coaching more of my future MLB pitchers than the one in AA, who will be coaching more of my future pitchers than the one in A+, etc.