Since we're dealing with fantasy baseball, I'd kind of like to live in a fantasy virus-free world and begin play with the full 2020 season as original scheduled. I started a new Challenge-mode game today after the most recent update (21.6, build 82, MacOS), since this is supposed to be the final major update.
I got an unpleasant surprise when I took up GM/Manager duties of the Detroit Tigers: #7 prospect Casey Mize in the starting rotation, with a MLB contract. This was not the case in similar new games started in previous versions of OOTP 21, where he began the season in AAA. I've read that the AI makes roster choices when starting a new game, so I started 3 new games in the hopes that one of these times they'd let the poor kid start the season in AAA... nope. Consistently in the MLB starting lineup.
I understand that the AI is probably putting together the best possible opening-day lineup it can manage with Detroit's current stock, but the result is a pitcher drafted less than 2 years previously, who has never pitched above AA, who either loses a season of development in the minors, or spends the season in the minors and unnecessarily loses a year of service time and minor-league option. This is particularly frustrating as I have no control over this as the new manager of the team.
I've long wished that new games started a little bit further back, perhaps with the start of that year's spring training, so that GMs/Managers can have a bit more influence on the team they field at the start of the year. Absent that, I think the AI needs to take MiLB service time (or in this case, the lack of it) into account when making starting decisions for the MLB roster when a new game is started—there's just no way Mize opens the 2020 season in Detroit in real-world baseball (because of course we do want
some reality in our fantasy

). Absent that, I guess I'd be better off starting a historical sim in 2019, just for the sake of helping the development of one of today's top prospects.
Any insights appreciated. Thanks.