Too young for A Ball?

ezpkns34 · 07-28-2025, 04:16 PM

Have a 5* 17 year old who looks like he could hold his own in A Ball, would it aid his development to play against the higher level of competition or stunt it if it ends up my scout was higher on him than he should've been and he scuttles to .650 ops or whatever instead of mashing Rookie Leagues?

Normally I risk the younger guys "on the line" playing the better competition but can't remember too many 17 year olds that looked ready to totally skip Rookie Leagues, so mostly just curious if it would be different when that young in hopes of not fumbling a future star

Bluenoser · 07-28-2025, 05:24 PM

Looks like he could hold his own, but can he really?

Start him in rookie ball for a month, if he's tearing it up then try moving him up. He's only 17, what's the rush?

OutS|der · 07-28-2025, 10:39 PM

Make sure you turn off potentials boosting MILB stats or you'll never be sure if he's really holding his own or if the game is boosting his stats and he's really hurting his development by being at too high a level.

kidd_05_u2 · 07-29-2025, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Looks like he could hold his own, but can he really?

Start him in rookie ball for a month, if he's tearing it up then try moving him up. He's only 17, what's the rush?

Players do lose two months of games if they wait for Rookie league to start instead of starting at Low A.

I always send any players with MLB potential (45 or above) to low A to start the season if I think his ratings look good enough to avoid negative WAR. In my save I currently have a 17 year old in low A.

Also, this happens in real baseball. For just one example, Andrew Salas was a IAFA a few months ago and started at Low A this season: https://www.baseball-reference.com/r...d=salas-001and

Bluenoser · 07-29-2025, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kidd_05_u2

Players do lose two months of games if they wait for Rookie league to start instead of starting at Low A.

I always send any players with MLB potential (45 or above) to low A to start the season if I think his ratings look good enough to avoid negative WAR. In my save I currently have a 17 year old in low A.

Also, this happens in real baseball. For just one example, Andrew Salas was a IAFA a few months ago and started at Low A this season: https://www.baseball-reference.com/r...d=salas-001and

I guess that depends on your setup. I always change the start date for rookie league to coincide with the draft. But then my league isn't entirely real. Some things I change to fit better with how I like to play.

Pelican · 07-30-2025, 06:16 PM

I know it's arbitrary, but I don't promote a kid to A ball until he's 18, regardless. He might have the baseball skills to survive, but not the life skills? The game may not parse maturity outside of baseball skills, but IRL that would be too much to ask. As someone said, there's plenty of time. And there's rookie ball. Let him perform his way through the system like a rocket.

NoOne · 08-02-2025, 05:26 PM

The only way to get a mike trout or ken griffey jr is to try (reach ML by 19 or even 18).

I don't think i've ever managed to get an 18 year old into the majors, but multiple times i've manage to get a 19 year old playing well as a rookie.

if the current ratings warrant a A-ball promotion, i say do it. See what happens.

The rest is relative to the league averages and such... if they perform really, really, really bad, i wil demote them and maybe retry in a month or two. If they just underperform a little bit but not too far below 100ops+, I leave them and they do fine.

if they are striking out 4x a game, i reconsider. the bar is very low for minimal results. works out fine..

If ratings stagnate, that's another reason i might demote. if they keep going up, i keep promoting even if they don't perform well.

07-28-2025, 04:16 PM	#1
ezpkns34 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 729	Too young for A Ball? Have a 5* 17 year old who looks like he could hold his own in A Ball, would it aid his development to play against the higher level of competition or stunt it if it ends up my scout was higher on him than he should've been and he scuttles to .650 ops or whatever instead of mashing Rookie Leagues? Normally I risk the younger guys "on the line" playing the better competition but can't remember too many 17 year olds that looked ready to totally skip Rookie Leagues, so mostly just curious if it would be different when that young in hopes of not fumbling a future star

07-30-2025, 06:16 PM	#6
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 2,934	I know it's arbitrary, but I don't promote a kid to A ball until he's 18, regardless. He might have the baseball skills to survive, but not the life skills? The game may not parse maturity outside of baseball skills, but IRL that would be too much to ask. As someone said, there's plenty of time. And there's rookie ball. Let him perform his way through the system like a rocket. __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.”

07-28-2025, 05:24 PM	#2
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,177	Looks like he could hold his own, but can he really? Start him in rookie ball for a month, if he's tearing it up then try moving him up. He's only 17, what's the rush?

07-28-2025, 10:39 PM	#3
OutS\|der Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: In A Van Down By The River Posts: 2,696 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Make sure you turn off potentials boosting MILB stats or you'll never be sure if he's really holding his own or if the game is boosting his stats and he's really hurting his development by being at too high a level.

08-02-2025, 05:26 PM	#7
NoOne Banned Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,273 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	The only way to get a mike trout or ken griffey jr is to try (reach ML by 19 or even 18). I don't think i've ever managed to get an 18 year old into the majors, but multiple times i've manage to get a 19 year old playing well as a rookie. if the current ratings warrant a A-ball promotion, i say do it. See what happens. The rest is relative to the league averages and such... if they perform really, really, really bad, i wil demote them and maybe retry in a month or two. If they just underperform a little bit but not too far below 100ops+, I leave them and they do fine. if they are striking out 4x a game, i reconsider. the bar is very low for minimal results. works out fine.. If ratings stagnate, that's another reason i might demote. if they keep going up, i keep promoting even if they don't perform well.