[bigd51]

So... I guess the question I have is, what exactly does the AI go by when making decisions about who to promote/demote through their MiL system?

I see a lot of teams (and even my own Assistant GM, as I delegate my own MiL promotion/demotion decisions to him) let guys linger in the MiL system too long when they not only have the ratings to justify a promotion, but the stats to back it up as well. I usually have to lock and promote guys just so the AI doesn't keep them grounded.

For instance, in the 1st attachment below, the Royals have a LF on their A+ team. He's 22 now, was drafted 18th overall in 2018, has been tearing it up in the minors based on his stats and also has solid ratings that justify him at least to be playing in AAA by now, if not the main roster. But for some reason, the Royals let him linger in their rookie leagues for 3 years and refuse to promote him to where he should technically be.

My league's AI Player Evaluation Settings are default:

65% Ratings Weight
20% Current Year Stats Weight
10% Previous Year Stats Weight
5% 2 Years Ago Stats Weight

I thought this may be the reason, but when looking at current Royals GM, Dayton Moore's Player Valuation settings in his profile, his Scout Value setting is in the red, while his Current Year Stats setting is one tick away from max, in the dark blue. And judging by the player's stats, below, and Moore's high value for Current Year Stats, there's no reason this guy should only be in A+. Going into Commissioner Mode and viewing KC's rosters, he also has a "green arrow" and when promoting him myself to AAA, he has no arrow, which tells me he at least qualifies for AAA.

Also, I know some may say that MY scout could value him differently than THEIR scout... but both scouts "Highly Favor Ability" and they have Excellent and Outstanding ratings for "Scout Minors". So it's not a case of my scout having a drastically different value than theirs.

Take Ronald Acuña, Jr. as a real life example. His first year, at 17 years old, he played in the Rookie Leagues. His second year, at 18, he played 40 games in Single A, and his third year, at 19, he soared through 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA) and is now on the main roster in his 4th year, at age 20. This guy below has stats that would blow Acuña's out of the water, yet he spent 3 full seasons in the Rookie Leagues when Acuña only spent 1.

They also have a pitcher in their Rookie League right now (second attachment) they drafted 4th overall in '20 at the age of 22. Decent ratings, decent enough stats, "green arrow" beside his name... yet he hasn't made it past A+ either and he's now 24. When moving him, myself, to AA (in commissioner mode), there's no arrow, which tells me he's at least qualified for AA.

Real life comparison, Kyle Wright. Drafted 5th overall last year at age 21 by the Braves, only pitched 17 total innings between Rookie and A+ his first year, and started this year (and currently still) in AA at 22.

Another guy (3rd attachment) that was in the Royals system, before I traded for him. Drafted 3rd overall, at 21 years old and I found him in A+ at 24, despite being over-qualified like the 2 aforementioned. He's got the stats, the ratings, and had a "green arrow" even after I moved him to their AAA team, meaning he was MLB ready. Yet they continued to slow-cook him.

Real life comparison, Francisco Mejia. Granted, they slow-cooked him... but he was only 17 when he was added to their Rookie League. This guy was 21 when he was drafted 3rd overall. If this were real life, I feel his stats would be enough to justify him being promoted higher and quicker before I got my hands on him. And even the "green arrow" is saying these guys could move up, but the AI doesn't have the awareness of their stats, ratings, main roster needs, how high they were drafted, or their age to properly promote guys through their farm system.

I just haven't been able to figure out why the AI keeps guys in the lower leagues when they're over-qualified... and in the Royals case (who've been in rebuild mode for the past 2-3 years), why aren't they trying to get these guys through their farm system quicker to the main roster?