[NoOne]

here's a tip that may be a spoiler for a current year league starting out.

pay attention to the free agencies as you experiement and practice with this throwaway league. it won't always be the same, but if you see 5-6 amazing SP available in year 3, many of those same players will be available again next time you start with the orioles.

pay attention to drafts -- this is more about what the players become than what they 'look' like with scouting inaccuracy galore in the draft pool. luck in development and tcr will cloud this a bit, of course. even so, you'll be able to pick names out of lower potential players that you know are actually good.

when you buy ootp season to season, you get quite familiar with whom the amatuer star prospects are. you see many of the names for multiple years.

this can make early planning a breeze and have lasting beneficial effects for 10-20 seasons. know when to budget for big FA years with players you will likely covet and some sage draft picks in round 2-5ish in some years etc. awesome mlb club and high quality prospects to keep the ball rolling one way or another for a long time.

It helps for 10-20years, but only the first ~3 maybe ~5 years is all you can predict with any confidence. it will always deviate a bit, but the longer you go out from "2018" the less similar it will be, of course. so, a reduced benefit as time moves forward in a new league. ==> pounce early rather than late