Post by Andy Barnes on Jan 8, 2019 1:01:17 GMT -5
with Minorleagueball.com no longer publishing prospect grades, we will need to reform how we handle grades (if we do) and what the starting salaries for prospects will be. I also want to explain how the arbitration process works and see if there are any issues that may need to be addressed and voted on.
Current Minor League & Arbitration System
Player Eligibility:
To be considered a prospect in DLF, a player must have a) been drafted and signed through the MLB First-Year player draft or b) signed through International Free Agency, so they must have or have had, at one time, a contract with a MLB franchise. If said player was signed through IFA, he will be eligible for our minors draft IF he is 24 or under on Jan 1st. of the calendar year of which he signed his contract. This age restriction is only for IFA players, a free agent prospect over the age of 24, that once had a contract with a MLB organization and is not currently rostered, is still eligible as a prospect.
All players must have less than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in their career.
Player Grades & Rookie Salaries:
Every spring we update the spreadsheet to reflect prospect grades, that have been published by John Sickels on MinorLeagueBall.com.
The rookie salaries correspond to these grades (A= $3, B= $2, C= $1) at the time of their promotion and/or graduation from prospect eligibility.
Arbitration Requirements:
At the end of each season, arbitration eligible players are categorized by their primary positions and ranked against the rest of the league player pool to determine if they finish above the minimum threshold for an arbitration raise. There are three requirements that each arbitration eligible player must meet in order to earn said raise.
1) The player must have reached 150 AB or 50 IP during the season in question.
2) In order to use a position as his primary position, the hitter must have at least 35 games played at that position during this season. If more than one position qualifies, the position with the most games played will be his primary position. A pitcher must start 10 games to qualify as a Starting Pitcher and must make at least 15 Relief Appearances to qualify at RP.
3) Hitters must have finished within the top 10 on the DLF WAIVR rankings for the entire season, at that specific position. DH's with no other position eligibility must finish within the overall top 75 for hitters. A SP must finish within the top 50 and RP must finish within the top 40.
To advance the arbitration contract forward one season ( 1/5 becoming 2/5) they must meet requirement 1, meaning 150 AB or 50 IP is consider the minimum requirement for service time advancement. If they do not meet this threshold, not only are they not eligible for a raise, but they also remain 1/5 or 2/5 or whichever, that their current contract states.
Arbitration Raises
Each eligible prospect that meets the requirements above, will receive a $2 raise on their next season's contract. Grade A prospects have the potential to be $3/$5/$7/$9/$11 by the end of a successful arbitration contract. Whereas Grade B can be $2/$4/$6/$8/$10 and Grade C $1/$3/$5/$7/$9.
These best contract possible scenarios turn out to be Grade A: $35/5yrs, Grade B: $30/5yrs, Grade C: $25/5yrs, however there are a wide array of contracts available based on if the player gains an arbitration raise and when.
Minor League Promotions
Any prospect may be promoted to the active roster, at any time, during the current season. When this is done, the corresponding grade determines the Rookie contract price. This prospect may be demoted back to the minors (while still having a contract) at any time, up until they reach the 130AB/50IP rookie limit threshold. Once a player reaches the 130AB/50IP rookie threshold, if they are on the active roster, they automatically become a (1/5) arb contract, if they are on the minors roster when they reach this threshold, they are considered graduates. Graduates can be held in the minors until the off season and promoted on the next season's payroll or promoted on the spot and count towards the current payroll. This is our way of using service time to hold back prospects and gain an extra year of control.
Current Minor League & Arbitration System
Player Eligibility:
To be considered a prospect in DLF, a player must have a) been drafted and signed through the MLB First-Year player draft or b) signed through International Free Agency, so they must have or have had, at one time, a contract with a MLB franchise. If said player was signed through IFA, he will be eligible for our minors draft IF he is 24 or under on Jan 1st. of the calendar year of which he signed his contract. This age restriction is only for IFA players, a free agent prospect over the age of 24, that once had a contract with a MLB organization and is not currently rostered, is still eligible as a prospect.
All players must have less than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in their career.
Player Grades & Rookie Salaries:
Every spring we update the spreadsheet to reflect prospect grades, that have been published by John Sickels on MinorLeagueBall.com.
The rookie salaries correspond to these grades (A= $3, B= $2, C= $1) at the time of their promotion and/or graduation from prospect eligibility.
Arbitration Requirements:
At the end of each season, arbitration eligible players are categorized by their primary positions and ranked against the rest of the league player pool to determine if they finish above the minimum threshold for an arbitration raise. There are three requirements that each arbitration eligible player must meet in order to earn said raise.
1) The player must have reached 150 AB or 50 IP during the season in question.
2) In order to use a position as his primary position, the hitter must have at least 35 games played at that position during this season. If more than one position qualifies, the position with the most games played will be his primary position. A pitcher must start 10 games to qualify as a Starting Pitcher and must make at least 15 Relief Appearances to qualify at RP.
3) Hitters must have finished within the top 10 on the DLF WAIVR rankings for the entire season, at that specific position. DH's with no other position eligibility must finish within the overall top 75 for hitters. A SP must finish within the top 50 and RP must finish within the top 40.
To advance the arbitration contract forward one season ( 1/5 becoming 2/5) they must meet requirement 1, meaning 150 AB or 50 IP is consider the minimum requirement for service time advancement. If they do not meet this threshold, not only are they not eligible for a raise, but they also remain 1/5 or 2/5 or whichever, that their current contract states.
Arbitration Raises
Each eligible prospect that meets the requirements above, will receive a $2 raise on their next season's contract. Grade A prospects have the potential to be $3/$5/$7/$9/$11 by the end of a successful arbitration contract. Whereas Grade B can be $2/$4/$6/$8/$10 and Grade C $1/$3/$5/$7/$9.
These best contract possible scenarios turn out to be Grade A: $35/5yrs, Grade B: $30/5yrs, Grade C: $25/5yrs, however there are a wide array of contracts available based on if the player gains an arbitration raise and when.
Minor League Promotions
Any prospect may be promoted to the active roster, at any time, during the current season. When this is done, the corresponding grade determines the Rookie contract price. This prospect may be demoted back to the minors (while still having a contract) at any time, up until they reach the 130AB/50IP rookie limit threshold. Once a player reaches the 130AB/50IP rookie threshold, if they are on the active roster, they automatically become a (1/5) arb contract, if they are on the minors roster when they reach this threshold, they are considered graduates. Graduates can be held in the minors until the off season and promoted on the next season's payroll or promoted on the spot and count towards the current payroll. This is our way of using service time to hold back prospects and gain an extra year of control.
