Fair bit of chat lately on the merits of starting MP's and I'd like to offer my thoughts, beit as they may.
I'll just use Crouch as an example. I'm starting him with the intent of trading him out before his rnd 15 bye, he's my M5 and priced at 88, I'd be happy with a 95-100 from that position. He's $160k cheaper than a premo mid and I can use those funds to 'upgrade' my 30th player to another MP and hopefully earn around 30 more PPG from that position, those funds could also be used to upgrade a Steele to a Bont.
The reason I'd be happy with 95-100 is that when I trade him out (hopefully one of my last upgrades) then I'll effectively have a position in the mids that is not exposed to any byes, particularly if I upgrade to an Oliver type coming off his 2 byes and this is where I'm finding the value. The 2 bye cost is around 100pts, more if that player is the 2nd or 3rd player on each of his 2 byes. That 100pts equates to 6-7PPG over the early part of the season, effectively raising Crouch's output to 101-107. The added bonus is just a 2 trade cost to get Clarry in where the normal cost could well be 3 trades.
Now if, and of course it's a big 'if', if I apply that rationale to 3 other positions then I could well be 400pts better off than those starting premos that'll have 2 byes. To me it's just another form of upgrading. There was a stat from 2 years ago showing that more MP's than rookies made the $150k that we all hope for. Not forgetting the upgrading of my 29th-27th rookie which should generate substantial point gains as well as having those players with better JS thus (hopefully) avoiding the dreaded sub vest.
I've more than likely made some assumptions that are NQR and probably placing too much hope on getting the MP's right, however with all the info out there I'm reasonably comfortable starting my chosen MP's.
The extra byes and extra trades have thrown up a completely different landscape to the game compared to what it was even last year.