Turning our league into a keeper league.

[VenomSox]

We are turning our league into a keeper league and nobody has been in one before. I have the basic idea of how to run one, I just wanted some guidlines that some other leagues use. Like how many players to keep, how many years you can keep a player, draft order and anything else I might need to know.

[ZoomSlowik]

Everything varies depending on your preferences and the league style, but here are some of the basics...

 

Generally a team gets to keep 4-7 players. This can vary depending on the format. If there are more than 10 teams it is advisable to keep the number at 4 or 5, since the talent pool is a little thinner, while if it's 10 teams or fewer you might want to make it more than 5. 4 or 5 players are the generally accepted numbers.

 

The number of years you want to run the league is also an issue. Most are probably 3 or 5 year leagues. That depends highly on whether or not you know the players are going to stick around and be easy to contact. If you know the guys and talk with them regularly, you could consider doing something more like a 10 team keeper. If you don't know some of the players, a 3 or 5 year is better. If it a 3 year league, you should probably not use any restrictions on how long you can keep a player. For a 5 year league or longer, it's probably a good idea to put a 3-year limit on how long you can keep a player. Postseason trades get pretty interesting using that rule.

 

Scoring is a variable thing, but I usually like to do a reverse point total system (meaning last place is worth 1 pt and first place is worth however many teams there are0. You could also just keep track of the top couple of spots and award points however you want, but I like to award points for every spot for the following reason. Draft order is usually determined much like in the NFL, with the worst team getting the first pick post-keeper and so on. Awarding more points for 8th than 10th prevents a team from tanking the last few weeks to get a better pick, since talent is in shorter supply after the keepers are determined. I suppose you could do a lottery for the draft order if you have time to kill, but that seems kind of pointless.

 

Another major thing to consider is how you want to handle the minor leagues. You can chose to manage it like a standard league where a player is placed on waivers when he makes it to the major leagues. It's infinitely more interesting if you have a minor league draft though. You set some kind of eligibility standards (the MLB ROY eligibility rules work well) and select prospects you get control of. You select however many prospects you guys feel like doing (at least 4 or 5, maybe more if you guys are all knowledgeable and have time to kill) and have a different set of MLB keepers (probably 2).

 

Hope this helps a bit. You can adjust things however you want to though.

[VenomSox]

Thanks for the help, we have had this league for 3 years now with the same 10 people. So if I make it 3 years do you have to keep the player 3 years? You do a seperate draft for minor leagers? I know I can do whatever but I just wanted to know what other people do.

[ZoomSlowik]

You don't "have" to keep anyone. You can choose which players you want after each season. If Johan Santana ends up tearing a rotator cuff, you don't have to keep him on your roster. Likewise if you have someone like a Chase Utley that suddenly turns into a stud, you can decide to dump Jeff Kent or another solid but not stellar player.

 

Yes, if you are going to draft minor leaguers that you can keep, you should do a seperate draft, although you have to limit who is available (no Felix Hernandez or Brandon McCarthy in this draft). You don't need to be wasting picks on AA guys that might not contribute for another year or two. You don't need to go nuts, just like 4 or 5 rounds to decide who gets which of the bigger name prospects.