MINOR LEAGUE DRAFT/KEEPERS FAQ

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 World Series, the League of Mediocre Gentle(wo)men passed League Change Proposals 5 and 6. Proposal 5 enacts a change of league hosting client from ESPN to Fantrax. Proposal 6 enacts the inclusion of a minor league player draft, minor league roster spots, and minor league keepers. These proposals will usher in the most wide ranging changes to the league format since the introduction of keepers in 2012. With it, comes a range of questions and uncertainty as owners try to wrap their heads around the new rules and procedures. I asked league members to submit questions they had about the new rules for this piece so they could get some clarity regarding these changes in advance of the coming season.

First, I will post the text, in full, of Rule Proposal 6 - Minor League Roster and Minor League Player Draft for reference:

Additionally I will post a timeline graphic to chart the progression of events relative to minor league keepers and drafting according to the new rules:

Most questions can be answered by referring to the official document or the reference material, but I do understand that it’s a lot of text to dig through and a lot of technical writing that can be a bit cumbersome to parse (especially if you’re reading this article on your phone when you’re supposed to be working). Therefore, let’s clear the air as best we can and answer some questions.

what’s this minor league draft thing? i don’t remember this. does this mean i’ll have 3 of my total keepers having to be minor leaguers now?

1. The Minor League Draft will be a three round snake draft where non-rostered minor league players are drafted by teams and made available to lock in as keepers for that season. The minor league draft will take place at some point in the 24 hours prior to the major league draft. It will likely be offline utilizing a google sheet and is not mandatory to attend (Though if an owner does not attend and does not make arrangements for a proxy drafter, they will forfeit their picks).

2. The three new minor league keepers will be in addition to the six existing major league keeper spots we’ve always had. Additionally you won’t be able to keep minor leaguers in your “major league” keeper spots anymore.

I heard 6 players and a 3 round draft for the minor league draft. How does that work and where do my minor league keepers come in?

At the end of any fantasy season from now on, most teams will have 3 rostered minor league players in their 3 available minor league roster spots. These players will remain available for owners to designate as keepers before minor league keepers lock. The minor league player draft allows teams to refresh their minor league rosters late in the off-season with new information based on: Arizona fall league performance, new rookie rankings from the media, spring training promotions, etc.  The draft allows this to be done equitably rather than in a waiver wire free for all.  So yes, you will have 6 players to choose three keepers out of.  You can also trade these players or your picks should you not want them.  More leverage and assets to do more things. After the conclusion of the minor league player draft owners will have to designate 3 minor leaguers as keepers 1 hour before the major league fantasy draft begins.

what rounds will the minor league players command when they’re promoted and kept for the following season?

Minor league players will always get designated a keeper value of (FA) the year they are promoted to the major leagues, so they will always be kept in the final round of the major league draft directly after promotion.

how does inflation work?

Minor league keepers are not assigned a round value and are not subject to inflation until they are promoted to the major leagues. Minor league players who end the season still in the minor leagues can be kept the next season as a minor league keeper for no penalty. This means, in theory, an owner can draft/keep a minor league player who was just drafted by their favorite team, and maintain control over that player for no penalty other than the spot he takes up until he is promoted to the majors. This was an intentional decision to allow owners to have the option of locking down generational talent early if they choose to, and not have them have to play the Free Agent fast-click game to do so.

When does everyone have to submit keepers? I want to delay mine until everyone else has submitted theirs so i can game the draft?

Minor league keepers must be submitted no later than 1 hour before the start of the major league draft. Minor league keepers and draft picks can be traded in the time before the minor league player draft or when minor league keepers lock, respectively.

when is the draft order decided? and how will it be decided?

The minor league draft order is the reverse order of regular season finishing standings from the previous year. The reason this is regular season finish and not final standings after the consolation bracket is because it would incentivize owners tanking in the consolation rounds for a better draft pick, which runs contrary to the competitive spirit we try to foster in the postseason.

if i have 4 potential minor league players on my current roster, but two of them finished the year in the major leagues, do i need to do anything before the minor league draft?

Players who finish the regular season on a major league roster are classified as major league players until they are designated to a minor league assignment by their teams in Spring Training or after. In this scenario, the owner would only have 2 players who are considered minor leaguers on their roster. The Fantrax client will follow this method and rosters having major leaguers in minor league roster spots and vice versa will have to correct their rosters to be legal in order to make further transactions.

are there 6 rounds in the draft this year or just 3 like in future years?

The draft will only be 3 rounds this season. That does mean owners will likely have fewer players this season to consider for keepers than in subsequent years, but we wanted to keep the system as consistent as possible. Changing the round count for one season would have been needlessly confusing for little benefit.

What levels can you draft from? only aaa or aa and single a? thinking specifically about college drafted players which usually start in aa.

You can draft any player in a minor league system for any MLB team, regardless of level. Our minor league roster system does not account for different levels of the minor leagues.

is it like a taxi squad where once they leave you can’t put them back? or what are the rules for “bringing them up”?

The way it works is that in order for a minor league player to be on a minor league roster spot they need to currently be in the minors. Once they are promoted they have to be moved to a major league roster spot. If they are demoted they can be moved back to a minor league roster spot. Making the designation as simple and easy to understand as possible on the day-to-day was very important to the implementation of this rule. That’s why we didn’t go with something like “still has rookie eligibility” or something like that. It would have been too hard to track and too convoluted for daily transactions.

you guys are going to meet up for the draft? why wasn’t i told? i would totally have gone… provided my wife allows me.

For the answer to this question please send a DM to Richard Martindell Jr.

And that’s all for this session of Rule Proposal FAQ. If you have more questions always feel free to message in the discord and someone will likely answer. If you still have a lot of questions that went un-answered, feel free to send me more and we can do a Part II. The sequel is sometimes better anyway.