Learning the Game

So I’ve been playing MLB The Show franchise mode for a while now and honestly I just got to a point where I wanted something deeper. Picked up OOTP 27 and I’m into it but I’ll be real, it’s a lot.

I’m not totally lost on the analytics side. I’ve been running my franchises in The Show using WAR, FIP, and building my own valuation tools and stuff like that. So I get the concepts. I just don’t fully understand how OOTP works under the hood yet and I don’t want to spend 10 seasons doing things wrong.

Few things I’m trying to figure out:
• What stats actually matter for player eval in this game? Like what does the sim actually reward vs what just looks good on paper?
• How do you handle extensions and the arb system? When is it worth locking guys up early?
• Is there anything settings-wise I should know going in?
• Any good YouTube channels or guides that actually helped you learn the game?

I want to run it like a real analytics front office. Guardians model basically. Small market, smart moves, develop from within. Just want to make sure I’m building the right foundation.

Any help appreciated