[NoOne]

i agree with all of that, except hte age thing... i think it has an influence, but it is not an obstacle or major impediment. if it doesn't hold them back, it shouldn't hold you back from promoting. if they hit a road block, re-assess at that time (but only relative to increasing ratings or not!)

i use all the tools available, if i am putting in the effort. In the minors i have a singular focus for all of the tools -> Development.

if you cannot see ratings, you'd have to rely on many things to make best decision / guess about their ratings under the hood -> that would be the equivalent to my focus and the same over-arching logic, just different inputs

if they are increasing their raitngs regardless of level, age or resulting stats, all is good -- and promote when ready proactively, not reactively (with ratings on)... i will ignore all other things in that instance. that is simply all that matters- getting good enough to play in the majors and contribute to your team's success. and, at AAA you can't leave them simmering for too long, IMO. if they are solid mlb everyday quality, i will not let them rot for more than a season at AAA. i likely have traded long before that backlogs.

without accurate ratings, or invisible ones, you'd have to be a bit more reactive and sensitive to the stats and any other feedback the game provides relative to how stongly it correlates with the facts(the under the hood ratings) -- which highlights their major reason of stats not being as efficient at developing players. I've had an 18-20year old develop quickly and with really really crappy stats the whole way, LoL... if you only look at stats, you will miss out on that kind of development path. that's not an argument to not use them , but a reality of the choice... and more life-like, too, while also being less life-like bout other things... i just don't play that way... preference only - one way is not better.

like pretender said.. don't pigeonhole anyoen.. let the context dictate what you do for each player.