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Originally Posted by StyxNCa
How do you know he will ever be ready, and if he isn't what "real" player is there to fill the roster spot you had hoped he would fill? Once they are imported to the league, their developmnent isn't based on anything historical, it's just based on the same thing fictitious players development is based on, isn't it? Seems to me under those circumstances, you need fictitious players around to fill roster spots of real players who never make it.
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Actually, no. The game is now very accurate in setting up the current and potential ability ratings for players imported from the Lahman database. As long as you're basing potential on career totals or peak seasons, Johnny Bench is probably going to have the highest possible potential. He is going to develop as long as you don't leave him for dead for several years or only give him minimal playing time. If he doesn't suffer a career ending injury or a major injury that permanently damages his ratings, then he'll become a star in your baseball universe.
Now, if Johnny Bench is owned by an AI club, then all bets are off. I once saw Yogi Berra spend only a couple of seasons as a regular player and then rot away as a third string catcher and reserve list victim until he retired.
It was all because Elston Howard arrived as a rookie in 1955, and the Yankees made him their everyday catcher as opposed to an outfielder who also player catcher behind Berra. Berra had just won the Defensive Player of the Year Award at catcher, but the Yankees didn't care.
They also kept Berra's real life predecessor for a couple of extra seasons, and they acquired yet another catcher in a trade right as Elston Howard was coming in. So the end result was that Berra never played enough to reach his potential. But if the human user has Berra or Bench and gives him the necessary playing time, it is almost certain that he will develop into the same kind of player he was in real life.
This is why the minor leagues are so critical. While players will still develop to an extent on the reserve list, I am convinced that their development is much greater and faster if they are playing games at any level. So, if the AI could send historical players down to the minors (without fictional players getting into the majors), it would probably allow a player like Berra to still develop to his potential and possibly force his way back into the Yankee lineup.