Draft

Prepare for Drafts

You can prepare for the draft by clicking the Manage Button on the main toolbar, then selecting the Draft Planner Tab as shown below.

Draft Planner Tab in the Manager Window

How-To Video

Sometimes it's better to learn by watching. Have a look at this video to get an idea how to prepare for the draft.

[Video - How to research available players and fill out a draft card.]

Available Players

Which players are available in the draft depends on your league's current draft configuration setting (FYI, some leagues allow owners to vote for changes to these configurations and some do not). You can access this information from the 'Definition' Tab/Button on the main screen of the software. Here are the 3 possible ways player lists have been determined:

1. Random Player Sets, which means that for every upcoming draft the sim chooses at random a set of MLB seasons 1893-present. Players who made their MLB DEBUT during one of those seasons (and meet other criteria for getting into our draft pools) are listed.
2. Sequential Player Sets, which cycle through a rotating and repeating set of year ranges. This is the way we handle leagues that are confined to certain eras, like Dead Ball, Modern Times, or Millennium. For example, in our Dead Ball league drafts cycle continuously through these ranges (1901-1905, 1906-1910, 1911-1915, 1916-1920). All players who DEBUTED in that range are draft-eligible.
3. Traditional NSB Eras, which means that for every upcoming draft the sim chooses at random an NSB era to feature. Any player making their MLB DEBUT in that era is draft-eligible.

All Players are organized into pools that correspond roughly to the positions they played. When researching for the draft you select a pool (SP,SSP,RP,C,1B …) to view all the available players in that pool. See the video above for a visual on how it's done.

Strategy

Drafting takes strategy. If you have a low seed, it will be hard to get a superstar. Sometimes great players can be had late in the 1st round. But not usually. So, if you load up you card with ALL the BEST players you're not being very strategic. Keep in mind that others are also competing for the best players. So, by all means have your "wish list." But be realistic, too. You can put up to 32 players on your card, but most owners probably stop at 15-20 in a established league because they've already got a good-sized roster and are trying to improve rather than build from scratch.

Note: League-Owned teams also participate in the draft. They are instructed NOT to vie for the very top players so that live owners have a little advantage. But they will still draft good players in order to be as competitive as possible.

Creating Contingencies and Setting Pool Limits

These options help you fine tune your draft preparation. Use the sliders as shown below to set the maximum # of players you would want to draft from a given pool in any draft event. Say you have 8 SP(starting pitchers) on your "card" but want at most to pick up 2 of them. So, set the SP Slider Control to 2 to tell the sim to stop drafting SP if/when it reaches that limit.

The Draft Limits Sliders on the Draft Planner.

Contingencies allow you to line up a sequence of players and make the drafting of them contingent/dependent on what happens to players higher on the card, e.g., draft player Y only if I don't get player X. Place the MOST desirable player above the less desirable. Say you really need a shortstop and you want to get one in the first round. In the example below Scutaro is the SS you prefer, but you are willing to take Taveras if you can't get Scutaro, and you're willing to take Hamner if you can't get either Scutaro or Taveras. By stacking contingencies you can create a more organized and effective draft plan. Note that the SS Slider is et to draft only 1 SS. This is vital because if you had your SS limit set to 2, the sim may take a second SS and thus prevent you from getting other choices further down on the card. Always check your pool limit sliders carefully!

To set a contingency, click the small icon in the column headed 'C' to the left of the player's name.

Example showing how to use contingencies.

Draft Organization, Method and Flow

Drafts are either SEED, STRAIGHT SEED, or BID. Note the following details:

1. If your league allows the trading of draft picks, the first 4 rounds of the draft will be SEED, meaning that whoever currently owns the seed owns the pick. Since some seeds may have been traded teams may have more or less than 4 picks in the first four rounds.
2. Rounds 5-8 are typically organized as a STRAIGHT SEED. Even if you are in a league that can trade picks, picks beyond the 4th round cannot be traded, so these rounds proceed based on the established seed order.
3. Rounds 9-16 are typically of the BID type. When more than one owner wants a player, he will go to the highest bidder.
4. Drafts always come in 3 'iterations' or 'events'. The descriptions in 1-3 above correspond to the 3 iterations. So, you plan these events separately by creating a new draft card on your draft planner for every iteration or event, which is published on the league event calendar.

How Many Rounds are there and How Many Players can I Get?

Every draft has 3 iterations (or drafting events). In the 1st event, there are 4 rounds. So, you can get up to 4 players in the 1st iteration. The 2nd iteration (or event) is identical. Another 4 players are possible. In the 3rd iteration (or event), you can get up to 8 players. At that point you're trying to fill out the bottom of the bench and bullpen, and maybe trying to get a decent pinch hitter or defensive sub. So, that's a maximum of 20 players obtainable in every draft.

However, it's likely you don't have room for 20 players on your rosters. Keep in mind that good players can be gotten off the waiver wire once the season gets into May. You can also get good players from your auxiliary roster. So there's no need to get 20 players in the draft UNLESS you are in a new league with a totally empty roster. In that case, go for it!

Best Practices

A couple days before the draft there a single transaction event in which you can dump/waive players to make room on your roster. This is very important because once you fill up your rosters with draftees the sim won't pick up any more players. There's simply no remaining place to put them. Pay attention because different leagues have different limits on rosters! On the Main screen, click the league definitions tab (button) to see what the roster limits are for your league.

After the draft you'll have 3 opportunities (these are post-draft transactions events) to sign contracts, drop players, and prepare for opening day.