I signed a 21 y/o IFA thinking he’ll be a stud, but his first couple development cycles have shown almost no improvement. Do 21 y/o internationals tend to develop less than, say, a 21 y/o amateur draftee?

https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=9601763

Yes.

It's documented somewhere, sorry but I don't remember where. Might be in a developer chat.

Darn. Okay thanks.

That being said, what type of player do you think he’ll end up being? Was hoping he’d be an average defensive SS (85s across the board), with .750-.800 OPS in a neutral park. That’s probably optimistic.

Over 2 development cycles, he added a total of one point in contact, and one point in arm accuracy. Your AA hitting coach was outstanding, as was your fielding coach, so it's him, not you. He's going to gain almost nothing at all going forward. This is typical of 21 yo INTL's; that is, to gain 0-3 points per category and stop.

So he will be what he is: a usable utility infielder, doesn't kill you if you rest your starter by playing him at 2B or 3B against left-handed pitching. OPS of about 750 against LHP in a neutral park, a little below .700 against RHP. I imagine you wanted more for your $21M.

As an aside, it seems to me that, running less than $20M in INTL, projections are more falsely optimistic for older INTLs than younger ones, to the point where I almost never acquire INTLs over 18 any more.

EDIT-- apparently I never learn. I tried this guy this season hoping I might squeeze 3 more points of glove and arm accuracy out of him, which would make him a useful player... I seriously doubt that will happen.

This is all very disappointing but good to know haha. Second season in a row I’ve wasted a huge investment in prospect money for internationals.

Lol, i'd still say you got over the learning curve way quicker than most. It took you 4 seasons to figure this game out and now you have won 2 WS in the last 4. Very impressive. It's a tough game.

I am starting to get into INTL scouting/developing as well. Does the 21 year old player have much higher scouted ratings than current ratings? I would figure that the scouted ratings and current ratings would be close if it is known that he is not going to get more development.

Depends on how accurate your scouting is.

When Scouting was revamped a few years ago, we were told that one of the intentions was that older players would show projections closer to current ratings, across all three prospect scouting categories. For the most part, I think they accomplished that.

Very recent example - just today someone in one of my leagues signed a 21yo IFA. My 20 mil IFA scouting projected a good but not great hitter with low power and borderline SS ratings. But at 21yo I figure that to mean he’ll fall short.

At signing my 0 Adv scouting projects a big jump in all his fielding ratings but very little in his hitting. Translation, he’s already a light hitting 3B and that’s probably all he’ll be.

FWIW, you can use older IFAs to your advantage if you care at all about your minor league teams. I’ve signed 24yo IFAs on a couple of occasions because they filled positional holes in my AA or AAA teams. They never develop, but you know exactly what you’re getting, and almost no owners fight you for them so they cost only 40-60k.

Thanks, Damag. Btw, I like the makeup of your win-loss record. I don't see a whole lot of tanking. I think most folks that are looking to emulate an owner, they should emulate somebody like that - don't see a single season on your record where you lost more 93 games.

"Only the mediocre are always at their best."