The problem is low MMR players then get farmed forever. Every time a new toon does MMR, it’s just stomping on low MMR players. I think starting at the average MMR is pretty important to avoid this. To that, it gives players a small boost at the start of playing. A player who might be in the 1200-1400 range normally might have a small advantage starting off.
That can be corrected in a couple games. If you’re continuing to lose, that’s not the systems problem. Having a low MMR ISN’T a bad thing. It could potentially give you a longer runway once you start building MMR. If you continue to lose at lower ratings though, you have other issues that should be addressed. That isn’t an attack, but the system isn’t all that bad.