Posted by pray4pro on 6/12/2019 8:37:00 AM (view original):
I had a 23 year old 5 year vet become a DITR last year fwiw. I’m sure there’s an age cutoff (the past three seasons for me it seems like the oldest is 24). And I’ve had people anywhere from rookie to AAA get selected, but generally it’s been lower levels because that’s where I have lower overall and younger guys.
Personally I think the younger they can become a ditr the better. Partially because I think the stat boost is more dramatic if you get it earlier in their career (especially if it’s the year they were drafted). But maybe more importantly is I tend to not watch my DITR eligible players as closely, so they could have 3/4 seasons of not as great development, and then the DITR won’t make up the gap. Whereas you get someone the year they were drafted and he’s instantly a prospect and you can monitor him a lot better, and the ceiling is much much higher.
Typically, you're right -- the younger, the better. However, the initial bump from DITR depends on the makeup rating. Typically, a player's makeup rating is higher in his third year than it is in his 1st or 2nd year. So, if you have a player in his first year vs that same player in his third year, it would be better if he got it in his third year, because the initial bump will be more significant.
However, you are correct again -- most owners do not take the time to develop DITR candidates as if they were real prospects (i.e. give them regular playing time). So, in the example above, the guy in his third year, may not have reached the two season development track because he wasn't receiving the playing time he should of had to hit that two year track. In that situation, the 1st year player would have been better off because most owners will give a DITR the playing time he needs to develop once he is a DITR.