[Vinny P.]

Dola,

For those who would legitimately use the PH depth chart to where it would make sense by putting your best hitters at the top, would still make the depth chart useless, because the AI would use those hitters in that order anyway, with the exception of pitchers and catchers. Markus already stated that the AI uses catchers as pinch hitters only in extreme situations anyway.

The only legitimate way of using the depth chart to specify an order that the AI could actually use, and in a different order than the AI would use anyway, is the whole "young player" thing. I can see a situation where perhaps you have a young player in their early 20s, who is not the best hitter on the bench, but is still better than 2 or 3 players in the lineup. Maybe you want to try to get him some extra at bats.

In this case, simply having some sort of checkbox that has to do with pinch hitting in the strategy section might benefit these people more. Maybe you can have two boxes to check, and you can only check one or the other, leaving of them grayed out; or checking neither.

In one box, you can check to have a player:

"Never pinch hit." (A catcher, perhaps.)
"Prefer to use as a pinch hitter" (A young player whom you would like to give a few extra ABs.)

This gives the AI increased flexibility in determining your wishes in a way that it can execute that makes sense to try to still balance your wishes with winning ball games in close/late situations.

It knows that you are giving preference to the young ball player to PH in a close situation, but will not STRICTLY use him first.

So now the AI can bring in your young player to Pinch hit for those weaker than him in the starting lineup. But it can also bring in the bench 1B with 5s across the board (with nothing checked) for players in between the young guy, and the 1B.

So, it could go something like this in ranking ratings:

Starting SS < Starting 2B < Young (benched) SS < Starting 3B < Starting 1B < Bench 1B < everyone else in the starting lineup.

With the "prefer to pinch hit" checked in the young SS strategy section and nothing checked in any other players' boxes, the AI knows you would want to give preference to the Young SS to pinch hit in situations where he is better than someone in the starting lineup. This include the Starting SS and 2Bmen. But it gives the AI the flexibility to win games that makes sense by allowing it to place in the benched 1B for the Starting 3B and 1Bmen.

As it currently is, the AI will throw in that Benched 1B for the starters at SS, 2B, 3B, and 1B, whichever is currently at bat the moment the AI decides it needs a pinch hitter.

But with the check box, you could have the compromise of programming the AI to have the Benched (young) SS replace the Starting SS and 2B, and the Benched 1B could replace the Starting 3B, and 1B.

For those who like the traditional route, they don't have to check any boxes for any players, and the AI will use PH how it currently does.