In keeper leagues, being aware of some quirks in your league's database can definitely be used to your advantage. First up is the Yahoo database.
The Yahoo database generally has the following rules, which come in for all standard leagues:
5 starts at a position, or 10 appearances will qualify a player there. For pitchers, it is 3 starts or 5 relief apperances to qualify.
There is also a feature in the commissioner's tools which can determine whether or not a player is in the Yahoo database prior to being on a Major League roster.
We've written about position eligibility players before, but there's more in the database than just that. In previous years, there have been pitchers who qualified as starters, but were being used as closers, so looking into the database can provide some unexpected values that can change your strategy come draft day. A few players whose position eligibility stand out to me are Michael Cuddyer (3B eligible), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2B and SS), and Javier Vazquez, Jhoulys Chacin and Jeremy Hellickson (all RP eligible).
There are also quite a few prospects in the database, and even a few who probably won't be in the Majors for a couple more years. It's definitely something to look into for keeper leagues, especially if you're in the process of rebuilding.
The list after the jump...
The sheer amount of prospects available in the system appears to be based off of the 40 man rosters, as some of the players who are available almost seem like they shouldn't be. Players in bold are in the database only if the commissioner in your league has set the database rules to add players "as soon as Yahoo adds them"C - Jesus Montero, Bryce Harper (also qualifies at OF), Wilin Rosario, Devin Mesoraco, Derek Norris, Wil Myers,
1B - Anthony Rizzo, Eric Hosmer, Brandon Belt, Lars Anderson
2B - Brett Lawrie, Jason Kipnis, Todd Frazier, Adrian Cardenas,
3B - Mike Moustakas, Matt Dominguez, Zack Cox, Lonnie Chisenhall
SS - Jose Iglesias, Dee Gordon, Grant Green, Zack Cosart,
OF - Dustin Ackley, Brett Jackson, Mike Trout,
SP - John Lamb, Casey Kelly, Tyler Chatwood, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Randall Delgado, Christian Friedrich, Michael Pineda, Julio Teheran, Jordan Lyles, Martin Perez, Chris Archer
RP - Jeremy Jeffress, Jacob Turner, Mike Montgomery, Simon Castro, Tanner Scheppers, Manny Banuelos, Shelby Miller, Jarrod Parker, Matt Moore,