Out of the Park Baseball Tutorial - Fixing Your Minor League System

Farm system not producing enought talent, or just confused about what to do in the minors when starting a new game? We've got some ideas!

[@dll1b14]

i like to add the relationship column to FA coaching page so you can see how good/bad a coach's relationships will be with a particular team without having to click on each coach's profile page.

[@abcdefghijkl5408]

Great suggestion - i need to do a lot more with custom views because i have too many clicks!

[@oldschoolsports]

Agree with Fake Name, that is an excellent idea!

[@johnnymo350]

Hmmm… I ignore minor league relationships since the players move on so quickly. I would rather just take the best coach.

[@Noglegz]

If you're playing with the independent leagues, at the start of the game (and maybe once a year afterwards) you can go there and sort by potential and buy some of the $250k players (eg go to ATL -> reports -> list all players). It's also the easiest way to fill your minor league teams with captains (w/ the instant purchase .. not as economical, but ...). DSL has the 20 y/o age limit and the minors have service time limits now, too. At least prior to this last patch, the game still allowed you to play with ineligible players (those that were transferred to some team while eligible but then later "aged out").

[@Writeous0ne]

yeah i do this. player search and customize between 2.5 and 3 star potential, then sort by level and IND will show up about 5-10 pages in. then i buy all the best 2.5-3 star potential players. sometimes you'll find ex major leaguers who slipped through free agency. i actually got a left handed reliever from the independent leagues and hes become a major league reliever, he's the first guy i call on to face lefty bats in relief.

[@oldschoolsports]

That's a great suggestion, I didn't have anything except MLB turned on for this, but appreciate you mentioning it!

[@oldschoolsports]

@@Writeous0ne That's a good point... the independent leagues is not a lever I use nearly enough... especially with a tough challenge ahead of me in OOTP 25, I'm going to need to get more creative!

[@MichaelRamm]

This was an amazing video! This is exactly what I was hoping for in this video, so THANKS for all of the work on this. I hope that you include some of these tips in your long play that will be starting soon. I know that the Dev Lab will be important, and we are all waiting to see how it develops as a system in OOTP25, so hopefully the devs will work everything out and give up the players good explanations of how it is supposed to work to improve the players.

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks, appreciate you watching. Hopefully they will release an updated manual for OOTP 25 online soon... it won't have all the answers, but at least should help ensure we're moving in the right directions with our decisions!

[@shawnmoshier9947]

Appreciate the color and depth on this.

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks as always for watching!

[@alexdostaler]

Thank you for this video - there's always more to learn! I have had problems where my youngest teams (Rookie) have way too many guys and my oldest teams (AA/AAA) have bare bones, so dumpster diving to fill those rosters may be the move, I guess. I was hoping you'd have covered promoting from the international complex, but could be worth doing if you ever go into international FA like previously suggested

[@oldschoolsports]

Thanks for watching! A few quick things I do with my international complex guys, FWIW... I typically move guys from the complex to the DSL team after spring training... primarily I move 18 year olds to the DSL, but I will move a 17 year old if their ratings suggest they are ready for the DSL, and sometimes will wait until they are 19 if they clearly aren't ready and/or I don't have a spot for them (i.e., if I already have four catchers I like more on the DSL squad and none of them are going to be promoted to A-ball to start the season, I might hold off on promoting another catcher for a year)... for the most part, if a player in the complex has multiple negative personality traits, I'll typically just cut them and never even promote them to the DSL, unless they are a 2.5 star or better potential, or I have a real strong need for their position (i.e., if I only have five infielders on my DSL roster, I might promote a SS with a bad personality for a year or two if there are no better young options on the FA market to fill that team).

[@bart9102]

@@oldschoolsports In the past I would let my assistant GM promote/demote players and let my minor league coaches find players to fill their rosters and they were always INSANE and I'd end up with no shortstops and 8 catchers. I wanted to go through seasons faster than I could do managing all of the minor leaguers like you put up there, but the AI was always so very, very bad at it that it's just not an option if you want to get anything out of your system.

[@oldschoolsports]

@@bart9102 That's some great information, thanks! I've always bordered between managing and micromanaging my minors, so fortunately I've never experienced that!

[@stanleyrosella7042]

Fixing minors are essential and tricky. Now I got time to watch this episode. Was ready to watch Opening Day at this moment, but rain stopped the Mets game. So no Play Ball until later then. Lets see what you got to offer in the meantime. 😉 (Bet you getting ready for Yankees opener later on) Nice to get a pause from the frenzy off-season and the thousands of Mock Drafts for NFL. Those blokes looks to coming out of the woodwark, left,center,right these days. Increased massively since YT and social media. Much calmer in the past.

[@oldschoolsports]

I'm pleased with the Yankees so far... six outs away from a nice comeback win on opening day against the Astros! That would be a nice way to start the season... if I haven't jinxed it!

[@stanleyrosella7042]

@@oldschoolsports You almost did. Soto not known for an arm showed he truly got one. The evil Spacemen was downed. Good day.

[@MichaelRamm]

@oldschoolsports I am prepping the MN Twins for my long term play and going through your tutorials again, which are amazing! Do you find it better to work the MiLB from bottom to top or from top to bottom?

[@oldschoolsports]

Ha, fantastic question... I have done both!!! Right now I typically start from the bottom at the international complex, promote those guys to the DSL, and then work my way up from the DSL and Arizona/Florida rookie league teams into A and repeat the process at each level moving up. But I don't think either approach is right or wrong!

[@keonwatkins500]

enjoy your content. do you have any subjection for a first time ootp 25 player on how to set up everything for a play thought.

[@seanbain2735]

I find it interesting the focus of filling out the Rookie league roster in this scenario. I generally use the draft to fill those gaps. I still will get rid of players that don't have a future, and then will add free agents as needed.

[@oldschoolsports]

Totally agree on using the draft to fill 99%+ of the Florida or Arizona rookie league teams when the game is up and running! But in that first year when the season will be over before the draft takes place, I'll typically try to find a few younger guys with good personalities who play the positions I need to fill some gaps on the squad.

[@davidrobinson5458]

Can you do an in depth video about international free agency?

[@oldschoolsports]

I'll put it on the list, might not happen immediately, but definitely a good topic, thanks for the idea!

[@brandonseabaugh7247]

With prospects changing levels so often do you think it would be more beneficial to lock up coaches for a year or two opposed to five or do you find it more valuable to lock them up for five just because they’re a great coach? I’m only asking because the relationships will change as new players come in.

[@oldschoolsports]

That's an interesting thought. I just like to lock up as many great coaches as possible across every level of the minors, and generally try to bring on coaches who will have at least Average if not better relationships with the players as well. I could probably be more strategic with shorter contracts and more promotion of managers/coaches along with top prospects they have great relationships with to maximize development, but that's a little too much effort for me. If I have a top prospect who has, say, an average relationship with the AA coaches, but a great relationship with the A or A+ coaches, I might keep them at the lower level for an extra month or so to take advantage of that, or perhaps promote a month or two earlier in the opposite scenario. But I tend to get the coaching staff I like (while factoring in their initial relationships when hiring), and then the prospects have to deal with the coaches!

[@brandonseabaugh7247]

@@oldschoolsports fair fair. Regardless I SUCK at developing hitters this year. Hopefully this helps lol

[@oldschoolsports]

@@brandonseabaugh7247 Yeah, it seems like things like the pace of development end up changing with every new version/patch... I kind of wish they were a little more consistent from year to year, but I guess it helps keep things interesting/fresher!

[@farrisovich]

Question, how often do you do this kind of cleaning house throughout the season, seems pretty time intensive.

[@oldschoolsports]

I really only go that deep once at the start of the game. Once things are cleaned up, maintenance is a lot less time intensive, assuming that you're not drafting or signing players with bad personalities (unless they are top prospects). I'll check on the minor league teams a few times a season, mainly just to promote a player or two to the next level and check in on the handful of real prospects on each team.

[@farrisovich]

@@oldschoolsports thanks for the response, great videos btw.

[@oldschoolsports]

@@farrisovich Appreciate you watching!

[@chillsongaming]

What skin do you use? I can only get 6 spaces on my overview screen and its really annoying when setting up my minor league rosters

[@oldschoolsports]

No special skins here, just whatever the game defaults to! Maybe something to do with the resolution?

[@farrisovich]

My MacBook Air only allows for four instead of six, main reason I want to get a pc setup for this game honestly.

[@oldschoolsports]

@@farrisovich Yeah, that sounds annoying!

[@ogrogers3652]

Under the green continue button on the origination page, you go to screen setup and do 3x3

[@ogrogers3652]

organization*

[@stanleyrosella7042]

Somehow I tend also to look at if the coach prefer prospect to vets. However still not sure if it counts. The first thing I do is editing all those extra for staff roles. Hate to see lifers catcher can't teach that position. Then retired outfielders are experts teaching the difficult position as catcher. It should be easy for OOTP devs to fix that when you turn a player into a coach, based on what position he played. That Conger coach is a beast, but if not sign him directly he is almost impossible to sign, even if he lingers in an Indy league team.

[@oldschoolsports]

I completely agree about the coaches... it's a minor thing, but it seems like something that could pretty easily be fixed once, and then it would be more immersive for eternity! I think the prospect/veteran preference primarily applies to managers when making lineup decisions, but I could be missing something there... it's an interesting thought!

[@brandonseabaugh7247]

This all seems so obvious but man it’s clear I have been severely lacking with my minor league teams!

[@oldschoolsports]

Good luck with them!

[@abcdefghijkl5408]

Managing each minor league roster to the level you describe would be uncharted territory for me. I generally let the AI handle it (outside of the top guys) and am happy with the development i get out the other end. Setting up a season already takes too much time but i might try it out to squeeze additional value out of the ML system. Good and cohesive coaching certainly is a must.

[@oldschoolsports]

I hear you... once I go through everything I described once, it gets much easier and less time consuming, because the only guys coming into my system are free agents I sign, players I draft, IAFAs I sign, or scouting discoveries I choose to promote from the complex. Presumably if I don't want someone because of personality, talent level, age, etc., they won't make it onto a team in my system anymore. And part of the reason I run larger minor league rosters is to avoid any in-season micro-managing associated with injuries, ineffectiveness, etc. After the first season, I'm pretty much just force starting the top prospects and promoting players when I think they are ready. And I completely agree on good coaching being a must!!!