How does baseball fantasy work

These leagues use a number of default settings that can't be changed. Private Leagues - Free leagues that you play with people you or the commish know. The commish gets to define every setting used and can customize quite a bit. Public Prize and Private Prize Leagues - formerly Pro and Cash leagues Pay an entry fee, play with public players or people you know, and the top finishers will earn a cash prize.

Live Standard Draft - Managers take turns adding players to their roster until all roster spots are full. Live Salary Cap Draft - Managers get a budget and take turns placing offers on players until their roster is full. Autopick Draft - An automated system that drafts players for managers based on a ranking system. Offline Draft - A league conducts its draft however it wants and the commish enters the results into our system. Limited available spots - Your roster has a limited number of spots, so you'll often have to drop a player in order to add a new player.

Maximum transactions - Some Private Leagues limit the number of adds or drops you can make. Ask your commish if you're unsure what the limit is or if there is one. Waivers - Most leagues use our waiver system , which places a temporary freeze on dropped players. During this freeze, all managers on the team can place claims on the player instead of having the first manager to see the player become available scoop them up.

If multiple claims exist, a priority system is used to determine who gets the player. Now that you know how to play Fantasy Baseball, personalize your profile to make it your own! Set or edit your team or league logo. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Please tell us why you didn't find this helpful. Unclear or complicated information.

Plan accordingly. Whatever your preferred draft format, keep this in mind: It's best to find a common time at which all managers can be available. For teams that are absent, or anytime a team's timer expires, the ESPN computer manager will take control and select players for that team, which diminishes the overall experience for those present.

Before we get there, though, you'll need to define the parameters for how teams can improve themselves, via lineup changes, free agency or trades. Teams in fantasy baseball leagues typically allow Lineup Changes , moving players freely between their bench and active roster spots on either a daily or weekly basis in order to capitalize on their real-life teams' schedules or individual game matchups.

If you choose a daily-transactions league, you'll provide maximum flexibility to managers in exploiting these matchups, improving the overall competitive experience, though that can also come at the expense of teams making a large number of transactions -- specifically free agents added to rosters -- or trying to load up on "counting numbers" such as runs scored or wins.

Daily leagues can also be taxing on the schedule; baseball is, after all, a day-plus marathon. If you choose a weekly-transactions league, you'll enhance the strategy of managers needing to consider a real-life team's entire one-week schedule and the matchups it contains but run the risk of an early-week injury that leaves a team with an absent player for several days. Another factor to consider: Do you prefer that fantasy lineups for the day or week lock with the first pitch thrown on that given day or in that given week, or can managers change players freely, as long as their teams haven't yet begun their games on either that day or during that week?

There is no singular, correct arrangement. You simply need to choose the setup that best serves your league's needs. Speaking of adding free agents, fantasy baseball teams generally are allowed to pick up new players who aren't on other teams within their leagues during the season, either to replace a player being released back into the free agent pool or placed on the injured list. As some free agents will be desirable to multiple teams within a single league, there are two ways to fairly award these players: Either by Waivers , which determines which team has priority in signing that player usually by reverse order of the league standings , or by the Free Agent Budget method, where teams can bid from a budget set at the beginning of the season.

The former provides a simpler method, but the latter grants more strategy and better reflects an open market for adding players. The aforementioned waiver order, incidentally, can be adjusted to either reset each week based on standings, or never reset, with teams making claims always moving to the back of the order.

You can also cap the number of player acquisitions a team can make during both the season as a whole and in an individual matchup. I generally advise against transactions limits -- in these days of increased injured list usage in the real game, I feel that limits penalize the unlucky in the health department -- but I can see the argument for limits of eight acquisitions within a matchup and over the course of a season as a method of curtailing teams trying to load up on counting stats, which is usually called "streaming" in the case of adding starting pitchers in a quest to secure more wins and strikeouts in a weekly matchup.

Trades are an important decision for a fantasy league and its commissioner. Should there be a limit on the number of trades a team is allowed to make in a season? When is the league's trade deadline? And should the commissioner be the final judge on the "fairness" of all trades, or should the league as a whole vote on that? All of these can be adjusted in the league settings, and you'll get a variety of opinions on the best setup.

I prefer not to limit teams in the number of trades they can make, want a trade deadline that is more than four weeks but not greater than eight weeks in advance of the season's end date and at least two weeks before the playoffs in a head-to-head league and trust my commissioner to rule on all trades.

Every league is different, though, and you can freely select the settings that make you the most comfortable. Our staff regularly identifies a group of players deemed too valuable to be freely released into the free-agent pool, in order to prevent collusion or tanking -- deliberately losing -- within fantasy leagues.

Depending on the trust you have in your league's membership, you can opt out of this setting, but I generally recommend using it. Keeper leagues are those that roll over a certain number of players from season to season. You can set this number within the league settings, if you'd like to convert your league to a keeper format.

These tend to be even more fun than leagues that redraft annually, mirroring the real game with general managers building teams over the course of several seasons. Would you like to limit the number of games a team is allowed within a certain head-to-head matchup? For example, if you're trying to curtail streaming, as mentioned above, you could consider limiting a team's starts to 14 -- or two per day over seven days -- or some other number.

Just keep in mind that a team can be prevented from accruing statistics only after exceeding its cap beginning with a new day of competition. This means that if a team had 13 starts entering play on Saturday, it can make three and potentially more on Saturday before being restricted from earning points from more starting pitchers on Sunday.

I generally don't like caps on games, but in a mixed league where starting pitching is abundant on the free-agent list, it's a reasonable restriction. Head-to-head leagues have the option of dividing their teams into divisions, providing you an opportunity to draw your league's highest playoff seeds from the winners of their respective divisions. This is under Teams And Divisions Settings within your league settings. If you choose one of the head-to-head formats for your league's scoring, bear in mind that you don't have to follow ESPN's prescribed regular-season or playoff schedules.

You may make regular-season matchups extend multiple weeks, can make playoff matchups single-week contests and you can extend or shorten the length of the regular season. Considering how major league teams often shut down star players near the end of the regular season, usually to provide them rest in advance of the postseason or to conclude their years early if they're eliminated from contention and could use the rest, a shorter regular-season schedule makes some sense.

There is no greater advice I can share to a commissioner just beginning his or her journey than to be detailed , nor to a fantasy manager within his or her league than to know your league's rules! Many leagues, in addition to their settings within the ESPN system, craft their own, printable constitutions.

All details pertaining to the league are included within the document, to help with any possible disputes that arise during the course of the season. Amendments, covering any topic that is unclear within the constitution or potential rules, can be proposed at any time, or the league can make the decision to trust its commissioner to make necessary rulings. Regardless of which route your league takes, this is why it's imperative that you select the right commissioner.

A tip to the commissioner: Never, ever change a rule pertaining to the league once the championship season process has begun, unless not doing so would erode the functionality of the league.

Even then, I'd ask, why wasn't the topic raised sooner? Rules are best changed between seasons, to give everyone a chance to approach a new year under the same set of guidelines.

Make it clear what's being changed, or if there's a league vote -- a preferred method for amendments -- make it clear when it takes effect. Fantasy managers, meanwhile, should always know their league's rules. It's on you to examine every single setting within your league, or to read your league's constitution in advance of every season.

There are tiny advantages to be gleaned by any individual setting of a league, many of which I'll detail in future columns.

The Golden Rule most certainly applies to our wondrous game, though I'll adjust it to read: Treat others with the same respect with which you'd want them to treat you. Don't be "that guy or gal" who won't see his or her team all the way through to Game The best leagues have everyone committed, from the start until season's end.

For more details on prerankings, see the sections entitled "Prerankings" and "How to Prerank Players" below. You are not required to be online during a Live Draft. If you are not online, the Contest will automatically make your player selections for you, based on your prerankings or default rankings in the event you do not have any prerankings selected. You can also add players to your draft queue. This list of players in your queue will supersede both prerankings and default rankings and will be used to make a selection if you are on "Autodraft" or do not make a selection after ninety 90 seconds.

To add a player to your queue list, select a name from the list displayed on the left side of the Live Draft Room and click the "Queue" button. You can check to see which positions you have filled on the right side of the Live Draft Room. This is an easy way to determine which players you should be targeting and drafting as the draft progresses. You can also chat with other people who are drafting during the live draft.

The chat feature is located in the bottom right corner of the Live Draft Room. The draft will last sixteen 16 rounds. At the end of sixteen 16 rounds, the draft will end and you can begin managing your Team.

If you do not wish to join a league with a Live Draft, you can choose to be in a league with a List Draft -- where MLB players are automatically selected for all Teams in your league by the Contest.

The Contest will make your selections based upon preset default rankings. You can either decide to use MLB. The automatic selection system looks to see which starting positions you need to fill, then selects the highest-rated player based on either MLB. If you do not wish to join a league with a Live Draft or a List Draft, you can choose to be in a league with a Simple Draft, where you will get a roster of players automatically assigned to you.

To set your prerankings, go to the prerankings page and click the players you wish to rank on your own. Rank the players at each position in order of your preference or just use the default rankings listed below. You can change the rankings of multiple players at the same time using this method. Important Note: If you do not have any players selected to be in your starting lineup during the first Fantasy Week of the Contest Period, you will not score any points during that Fantasy Week or in any subsequent Fantasy Week for which you do not have any players selected.

See the section entitled "Setting Your Lineup" below for further details on how to set your lineups. You may also have up to six 6 players on your bench.

Bench players are eligible to start at any position for which they are listed in the Contest as being eligible.

Top 10 Lineup Selection : If you select Top 10 lineup selection " Top 10 Lineup Selection " when you register for the Contest, the Contest will automatically select a starting lineup for you each Fantasy Week to ensure that each position includes the best performing player from your roster at that position for the applicable Fantasy Week.

This will ensure that you receive a point total based on an optimal starting lineup from your roster for the applicable Fantasy Week. If you select Top 10 Lineup Selection, you will not be required to set a specific lineup for any Fantasy Week. Brian McCann, Buster Posey and Russell Martin and McCann scores thirty-four 34 points for the given Fantasy Week, Posey scores twenty-nine 29 and Martin scores thirty-eight 38 , Russell Martin would be considered that user's catcher in the lineup for the applicable Fantasy Week, and accordingly, Russell Martin's thirty-eight 38 points would count toward that user's point total for the applicable Fantasy Week.

You can also have up to two 2 disabled list " DL " players at any time. In addition, if you fail to remove any such player from the DL spot on your Team before the Lock Time of any subsequent Fantasy Week s , your entire lineup will be locked for each applicable Fantasy Week. The Team may keep the player on the DL as long as it desires, as long as it does not make any other transactions except for any trades pending.

Played ten 10 MLB games at that position in ; or 2. Has played ten 10 MLB games at the position in Some MLB players in the Contest did not play ten 10 games at a position in These players will be eligible at the position that they appeared at the most in Example: In , the most games Adam Rosales played at any position was thirty-two 32 games as a first baseman.

Therefore, Adam Rosales would qualify at the first base position for purposes of the Contest. Example: Orlando Arcia of the Milwaukee Brewers will be eligible at shortstop as that is his expected position. If you do not have any players selected to be in your starting lineup following the Lock Time of the first Fantasy Week of the Contest Period at PM ET on Monday, April 3, , you will not score any points during that Fantasy Week or in any subsequent Fantasy Week for which you do not have any players selected.

No changes can be made for that position after the Lock Time of the applicable Fantasy Week. A player's position in the lineup is locked for that Fantasy Week once the Lock Time has passed. If you miss the Lock Time for any given player in the applicable Fantasy Week of the Contest, your lineup for the Fantasy Week will remain as it was the prior Fantasy Week. To edit your lineup, click on the position dropdown next to a player's name and select the position you would like him to play, or if you would prefer to put that player on your bench.

Once you have made all position changes, click "Submit. There are three 3 different ways to acquire new players after your draft has taken place and during the season: Free Agency, Waivers and Trades. Note: any player added to your roster via any transaction - whether via Free Agency, Waivers or Trades - will not be allowed to be inserted into your roster until the end of the then-current Fantasy Week.

Any player that is not owned by a participant in your league is considered a free agent. These players shall be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, unless they are on "waivers" explained below.

To pick up a free agent click on the "Players" tab on the top of the game's navigation. Under the "action" header there will be a green box with a white plus sign indicating that a player is available to be picked up. Click on the green box and you will be taken to a screen with your roster where you will be asked to drop an existing player on your roster to make room for the player you want to pick up.

Click on the grey checkbox next to the player you want to drop from your existing roster. Any free agent that you add will immediately be placed on your roster. That player can be placed into your starting lineup for any subsequent Fantasy Week s. You can drop players at any time, but you can only pick up players without dropping a player if you have less than sixteen 16 players not counting DL players on your roster. Some players on the game shall be designated as "Undroppable," meaning a participant cannot drop these players.

All-Star players such as Miguel Cabrera and Andrew McCutchen are on this list, to prevent people from dumping their superstars and having other people pick them up, leading to "loaded" Teams. The list of Undroppable players may change throughout the season at MLB. After your draft, all players will be placed on waivers for one 1 day.

All players who are dropped during the season will also be on waivers for a period of at least one 1 full day " Waiver Period ". During the Waiver Period, any participant in your league can claim that player. The person with the highest waiver priority explained below when the waiver claim is processed will receive that player. Example: If a player is dropped on a Tuesday afternoon, all managers can put in a claim for him during the Waiver Period.

The participant with the highest waiver priority, who submitted a claim for the player, will receive that player. Waiver claims are not processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The waiver priority list is initially set based on the reverse order of your draft. Each time you add a player from waiver to your roster, you will fall to the bottom of the waiver priority list. This "rolling" list stays in effect for the entire season. The Team ranked No. If nobody claims a player during the waiver period, he becomes a free agent.

If you place a claim on more than one waived player at a time, each pending claim will appear on under "Active Waiver Claims" on the "Players" page along with its current position in your waiver order. All new claims get added to the bottom of this list, but you can change this order by clicking on the swap buttons.

A trade occurs when one participant exchanges player s with another participant in a league. To propose a trade go to the game "Trade Center" and pick a Team you want to trade with from the dropdown menu. Once you have determined which Team you want to attempt to trade with, select the player s you wish to trade away and the player s you wish to trade for, and click "Review Trade.

If a trade is accepted, the entire league will be notified and other participants will have the ability to vote "for" or "against" the trade. This process is put in place to ensure trades are fair and balanced and do not compromise the integrity of the Contest. If four 4 or more participants vote against the trade within two 2 days, the trade will be officially vetoed by the league and the trade will not take place.

If four 4 or more participants vote for the trade, the trade will proceed the moment the fourth participant votes for the trade. If the trade is neither vetoed nor accepted by the league within forty-eight 48 hours, the trade will proceed. In order to prevent players involved in pending trades from being dropped or waived, participants will not be allowed to make any such transactions involving any players involved in a trade once it has been accepted.

The trade deadline will be July 31, No trades can be offered or accepted after p. ET Midnight on July 31, NOTE: Except as set forth in the Suspended Games section below, only statistics officially scored as statistics in MLB regular season games will be counted as valid statistics in the Contest.

Your players will not score any points in the event that the game they are playing in is rained out, postponed or cancelled. Under any of these circumstances, only the official statistics of the portion of the game s that was played prior to the suspension will count for purposes of this Contest. As such, the statistics from any such suspended game s that are completed in a subsequent Fantasy Week will NOT count toward either 1 the original Fantasy Week in which the suspended game s started; or 2 the Fantasy Week in which the suspended game s was completed.

Example: A game started on Thursday, May 19, between the Cubs and Brewers is suspended with the score tied at in the 7th inning. The game isn't resumed until Friday, July 15, and the Brewers go on to win In this case, all statistics from the first portion of the game May 19, before the game was suspended will count toward the May May 21 Fantasy Week. Under any of these circumstances, official statistics for any portion s of any suspended game s will NOT count for purposes of this Contest i.

Example: A game played on Friday, June 3, between the Angels and Pirates is suspended with the score tied at in the 4th inning.