MLB Keeper League Advice....

by Dorn on Jan 22, 2010 3:52 PM EST Comment 10 comments

I started a league and am trying to figure out our rules for Keepers. I'd like people to have the freedom to keep as many as they want and have the ability to reload. How should we go about doing this? Right now, we have to keep a minimum of 5 with no maximum. Anybody you keep that you draft, you lose that same round pick next year. How should we account for those you keep that you pick up via trade or waiver? Thanks for the advice.

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hmmm...

I would imagine if a trade is made then whoever is traded would be the value of where ever they were drafted originally. As for waiver pickups that would be hard to determine although there should probably be a difference between a true free agent and one that is taken off with waiver. For instance if some rookie is taken because he’s on no other roster and is just sitting there then maybe have his value as a final round draft pick. Or you could get creative and state however many weeks he is on the keeping team’s roster he moves up a slot. For instance a 25 man roster has a free agent that they keep the final 10 weeks of the season- that player would be a 15th round draft selection (25 roster spots – 10 weeks = 15).

But what happens when a player switches leagues in an AL or NL only format? What if in an NL only league and ARod is traded to the Astros? Then maybe whoever picks up that player cannot protect him?

by acr on Jan 22, 2010 11:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

keepers

is this a mixed league? if so, then trades to the other league don’t matter.
I would think the wiaver guys retain the round they were drafted in. free agents are a different story-would be tough to assign a round to them, no? maybe make a rule that free agents are not retainable the next season?
I play in one snake draft league, and it is not a keeper league. The keeper leagues I play in are auction leagues.

raygu
www.faketeams.com
www.sbnation.com

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jan 23, 2010 8:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks.

I’m trying not to make it too complicated because I don’t want to turn anybody off from FB as most of the people in the league are new to it.

by Dorn on Jan 23, 2010 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

In the interest of keeping it simple, I think I’d do this:

- You lose a draft pick in the round that the kept player was drafted in the previous season (as you stated). If the player is acquired via trade, this clause is included in the trade. By this I mean even if you trade me Carlos Lee midseason and I want to keep him, I have to forfeit a draft pick in the round YOU drafted him. For kept players off the waiver wire, I’d say make it NO sacrificed pick. In this way, you’re rewarded for making a great waiver pickup, and also players that are off the waiver wire have more value because keeping them costs you nothing. This will keep the league fresh because people will be less reluctant to keep guys that were drafted thus making the draft pool will be richer.

Nice and simple, but still strategic enough that it stays fun!

by ILLZ on Jan 23, 2010 12:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

In the league I am in, waivers and free agents count as 9th round picks. I like it because it provides good value but not ridiculously awesome value. It is our thought that you should only get 19th rd value for players like Ryan Braun if you were smart enough to draft them, not just because you had top priority at the time of the call up. But again, Ryan Braun in the 9th is still great.
In trades between teams in our league, the players retain their draft position.
Dropped players that are added by another team count as 9th rd.

by hayzer13 on Jan 23, 2010 12:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agree

There has to be some middle ground value for free agents. 9th or 10th round seems fair.

by faketeams on Jan 23, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Great advice guys. Thanks a lot.

Another thought….what if I draft Utley in the first round, then swing a deal for Hanley (also in the first round) and I want to keep both…do I have to choose which player to keep and let the other walk? Should the rule be that the next highest available round draft pick is lost by keeping both?

Again..thanks for the input.

by Dorn on Jan 23, 2010 5:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

next round

I would say the next round pick is lost in that scenario. I would also make some sort of rule to keep teams from bailing out on a season. Maybe something about players acquired after the MLB trading deadline cannot be protected? Just a thought…

by acr on Jan 23, 2010 5:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks man.

by Dorn on Jan 23, 2010 6:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Keepers

In my keeper league (12 team mixed, 8 keepers per team), players are kept in lieu of a draft pick one round ahead of where they were drafted/kept the prior year. Because of the one-round move each year, you cannot keep both your 1st and 2nd round picks (or both 1st round picks if you made a trade during the year). In theory, this keeps some of the top players available in the draft each year.
As far as trades, players retain their round to be kept when they are traded. In many cases, the players keeper round is a more important factor than the actual player traded.
As far as free agents, they are not eligible to be kept. I actually enjoy this aspect, as it forces you to really manage your entire roster. For example, I grabbed Strasburg in the 29th round last year and managed to keep him on my team all year. Now, I am able to keep him as my 28th round pick in 2010.
There are no limits on the number of years a player can be kept, so in theory, I could have Strasburg on my team for his entire career.
I hope this helps.

by Davegr78 on Jan 23, 2010 9:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs