[Dukie98]

I'm about 50 seasons into a historic random debut league, and in the last few years, I've noticed that many of the rookies dominate from day one - including some players who were marginal MLB players. In general, there seems to be less progression, and instead, they are drafted as fully-formed stars, even as 19-year-olds.

As background, I'm now in the historical year of 2026 (started off with stats tied to 1975). Batting averages/ ERAs are roughly on a par with the last 10 years or so, with strikeouts and homers on the high end. I have a 48-team league, so there are more players in a typical year who will meet a given statistical threshold. Over the last few years, I typically have about 4-6 players top 50 homers a year, with the league leader usually around 55 or so, but 60 is rare. A .350 batting average will often, but not always, with the batting title. In the last few years, there have been a couple starting pitchers per year with ERA's below 2.00, but that's not always the case.

This past season, rookie center fielder John Kane hit 54 homers. In real life, he smacked 7 homers between 1907-1910, with a career slugging percentage of .297. He has a 70 power rating (on the 20-80 scale) -- even though he's 5'6", 145 pounds.

As a rookie this season, Greg Colbrunn hit .330 with 50 homers and 143 RBI's. Six rookies topped 35 homers, including Cal Ripken, Jr. , who smacked 35 homers in just 123 games - at age 19.

On the mound, a rookie Orel Hershiser was the most dominant pitcher in baseball, going 21-0 with a 1.45 ERA and an 0.74 WHIP. Eighteen starters in the whole league posted ERA's below 3.00 -- seven of whom were rookies - including Jim Abbott at 2.24, Red Faber at 2.33. The top six ERA's in the league were posted by pitchers in their first three seasons- including three rookies and two second-year players.

Last season, three rookies topped 40 homers (Reggie Jefferson, Sammy Sosa, and Paul Goldschmidt), and Frankie Frisch - not exactly a slugger -smacked 38 homers. Two years earlier, rookie Fred Luderus nearly won a triple crown, hitting .351 with 62 homers . In real life, he posted a 97 OPS+. That same year, a rookie Cory Snyder blasted 61 homers, and a rookie Thurman Munson won the batting title, hitting .352 and slugging .615.

My question: are there any settings that can be toggled to reduce the potency of rookies, and have a more normal progression. I also don't want to have 19/20-year-olds regularly hitting 40 homers. I have not fiddled with the player development settings - is this what would do the trick, and if so, how should I adjust them? Thanks.