New Fantasy Baseball League

Hi guys. I wanted to throw a couple of proposed rule changes out there. I will mention these to the two members of the league who aren't on the board, too, but I thought they would be fun to discuss here.

One I already mentioned is changing the cost of keeping undrafted players. Right now, it is a huge advantage if you can find an undrafted player worth keeping. They only cost a 25th-round pick. Most of us end up keeping at least one. This league simply isn't deep enough that every keepable player will be drafted. The problem is that tends to lead to less trading and some flukish roster building.

What I propose is attaching a higher-round value to keeping an undrafted player. Another league I'm in sets that value at a 12th-rounder. I think that is too high, but making it an 18th-round pick might work better.

I was also wondering if we want to add one NA spot for 2023. I know we dismissed it in the past, but if we had it going into the offseason and draft, I think that would be valuable. Those would mostly be for minor leaguers. but it could also be used in the case of a player like Trevor Bauer.

Thoughts on either suggestion? I think both would really make the league better going forward.

 

I’m fine on the one NA spot for 2023.

If we do the higher rounds for undrafted guys, I’d be OK if it’s implemented for 2023. I just think that if you change it up now, it may not be fair to someone who took that low-pick rule into consideration when deciding on their keepers for this year.

 

Both rules would be for 2023. It wouldn't affect the cost of guys who were kept before this season.

 

OK, sounds good. I’d be OK with the 18th round. 12th round is too high.

 

Now if only I could convince the commissioner of my other Yahoo league that the 12th round is too high. I just took over an existing team in that one and it's going to be a rough road to catch up.

That said, it does bring some interesting strategies into the game. Julio Rodriguez was drafted in the 18th round in my other league, then cut. His value is increased because he was drafted, so he would cost a 16th-round pick to keep rather than the 12 he would cost if he hadn't been drafted.

 

I like big rosters, so I'm happy to have an NA, would be good with 2. As for the round, anything is fine with me.

 

I like the NA slot. The 18th round is better than the 12th, but I don't think it really makes sense to have a UFA cost a higher draft pick than someone who was actually drafted, especially with the addition of an NA slot. There will be more value to drafting a prospect who is a year or more away from the Show and stashing him in the NA slot than picking up a guy who is actually going to help your team right away. I'm not a huge fan of that idea.

 

That's why I throw these things out there. The thing is, player values change so much during the season that it makes a little more sense to me. I'm seeing the idea in action for the first time in my new league. A version of what they do holds some appeal for me.

Of course, these are separate things. Could just do the NA spot without the other change.

 

I’m not crazy about the NA spot. It allows us to draft and stash young guys and hold them forever at a reduced price.
If a team is out of it, an owner can grab five NA guys late in place of players he can’t or won’t keep and decide the next spring who to roster.
If we’re going to do it, I propose we only use the NA spot on guys we drafted, not players picked up on waivers. That allows everyone to go through at least one draft.

 

I like the NA idea - though MTM makes a good point that i have seen in action in other leagues I have been in - and I am cool with the 18th round idea too.

 

The problem with that is that when the prospect gets called up you lose the NA for the season? So you incentivize drafting the 19 year old?
I wonder if 20 is better than 18.
If we're already making things more complicated and trying to incentivize trades, how about a rule where players you trade for get a 1 round bump instead of 2? Honor's system against collusion.

 

I hadn't thought of that. Maybe a compromise would be to follow your suggestion, but with an in-season draft after the real FYPD. Everyone gets one selection. If your minor-leaguer has been called up, the player you draft takes his place. If not, you choose to keep the guy you started with or the one selected during the in-season draft in the NA spot. If you wish to keep both, one has to be moved to a bench spot.

I see Guy's point. I'm not wild about losing your NA spot just because your guy got called up, but I understand the thinking behind it.

There is certainly a risk of being able to hold young stars forever. Half of the elite players in my other league were kept and will be under one team's control for many years. Of course, that can happen under our rules as well. Say Logan Gilbert is the real deal. He becomes an elite pitcher. He would likely spend most of the great seasons of his career with the Houston Trashtros in our league because he was picked up as an undrafted free agent last season and kept as a 24th-rounder this year.

(And yes, I was cursing myself for missing out on that one. I've had Gilbert in my money league since drafted him in 2020.)