[NoOne]

it may be part of the equation already. If AI evaluation includes stats, that means it's using them to some extent.

When it comes to an "~18" year old in AA or AAA, it definitely matters. Anecdote: i currently have (3) 18-20year olds of high quality and seemingly ~aaa to ~aa developed. only 1 of them could put up good #'s at the level their ability deserved. i think i see better development if i avoid poor results (really bad .. ~70ops+ or worse = 30% less than average batting ability give or take). But, i've also seen someone hit that poorly and sky-rocket in development... too many moving parts to be sure.

The ai will promote some very young players quickly. i'd bet in those contexts, many factors are in tune and that's what separates other examples of similar ability/development. they don't get promoted for a reason... likely stats or age or some other factor the ai uses already.

i think "50", is middle of the road for that current level when on relative ratings. That's when i like to move them too, but not 100% sure if it's best either. i don't use relative ratings for minors, but the promotion timing is the ~same. the one drawback to relative is that as the talent ebbs and flows, it's difficult to see it. ie 50 in one year is inherently not the same as 50 in a different year, if it's realtive to 'current' talent in league.

regardless of what is known, there is definitely an optimal way to promote players. i'd wager a significant portion of the time you'll want to be systematic about it... reach X-ability(simplified, use common sense), then promote. i wouldn't be surprised that due to how things work you need to do things differently for certain contexts...

i'm curious is development is 'relative' too... e.g. if A-ball is ~50% developed, then 10current out of 20 potential is the same as 50current out of 100 potential (both 100pt scales) relative to optimal MiL level for development.

so if that is true and "eye" lags compared to % development of other ratings, is it better to keep them at the appropriate level for that current eye ability (as % of development - ie how far current has to go to reach potential) until it catches up?

or, maybe optimal placement is based on overall current ability and not the individual parts for this particular concept...

overall, i don't think there are huge negative effects pertaining to promotion/demotion timing. the AI is terrible at it... if there were the league would always have development problems. i often see ~mlb ready prospects stuck in A-ball. they eventually make it to the mlb at a ~normal age from what i can tell, but they'll have 2-3 years at same lower level just hammering the competition, stats-wise. i know there's a 'slight' impact for being too good for an mil level, but obviously it doesn't hurt 10-20+ of these high-quality prospects a year. future ASG type guys.