In full-season leagues, you not only have the option of using the waiver wire to fine tune your team, but you also have the option of calling up (and sending down) players to and from your AAA affiliate. In the GM's office, you'll see listed your top prospects, 1 at each fielding position along with 1 starting pitching prospect and 1 relief pitching prospect. Here are answers to some of the most common questions regarding AAA prospects...
What do the player ratings mean? Each minor leaguer is assigned a rating based on their position, relative to other minor leaguers. For position players, they are rated on:
- Power (1 worst, 10 best): ability to hit the long-ball
- Contact (1 worst, 10 best): ability to make contact and put the ball in play
- Fielding (C worst, A best): defensive ability, includes arm for catchers
- Speed (1 worst, 10 best): ability to steal bases and take extra bases on hits
For pitchers, they are rated on:
- Control (1 worst, 10 best): pitching accuracy
- Velocity (1 worst, 10 best): fastball speed
- Effectiveness (1 worst, 10 best): ability to generate outs
- Stamina (F worst, A best): arm endurance
Making the call... Simply click on the icon next to the player you wish to call up. Since your big league roster must always stay at 25 players, you'll next be presented a list of players on your active roster that you can choose to send down. NOTE: Players sent down to the minors must stay in the minors for at least 3 games before they can be called back up to your big league roster.
How will my prospects perform in the big leagues? Just as in real life, some prospects will do poorly and some will do well, it's up to you as the General Manager to monitor their performance before deciding who stays on the final roster and who finishes the season in AAA.
How does calling someone up affect my payroll? The payroll for your active roster can not exceed your salary cap. Your cash does not change by sending someone down to AAA. So for example, if you have $100,000 in cash and called up a AAA prospect and sent down someone making $550,000, your cash would remain at $100,000.
Does calling someone up (or sending someone down) count against my transaction limit? No, you can call up and send down players as often as you wish, without affecting your waiver wire transaction limit. Although, minor leaguers on your roster after the final roster set date can not be sent back down after that date.
Can I waive a AAA player? No. You can not waive a AAA prospect, or anyone that is not currently on your big league roster. Can I trade a AAA player? Sure, prospects can be part of trade packages.
Do all the teams in my league have the same minor league prospects? No, each team owner gets a different set of AAA prospects, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Will I get the same prospects each time I join a league? No, each time you create a team you'll be assigned different players in your AAA affiliate.
Why can't I send down who I want when calling up a player in AAA? For open leagues and theme leagues that impose a minor league salary cap, which is 10% of the league salary cap, the salaries of all of your player's in AAA cannot exceed the minor league salary cap and so only those that will keep your team below that value will show up.