LEAGUE SETUP:
League Manager: Fantrax
League Setup: Weekly Head-to-Head Scoring (Win, Loss, or Tie)
Division Alignment: 12 Teams Divided Into 3 Divisions of 4 teams each.
League Schedule: 18 week/game regular season. All 12 teams in the league play each other at least once.
Playoffs: 8 Playoff Teams- 3 division winners, 5 wildcard teams; 3 rounds (7 weeks) -reseed after each round
Futile Four Tournament: 4 Futile Four Teams (teams not eligible for the playoffs), 2 rounds (Best of 3 each). Futile Four winner receives #1 overall pick for the following seasons draft.
Keepers: Each team will be allowed to keep up to 6 Keepers on their roster from the previous season.
TEAM ROSTERS:
26 players from any position you choose, but each team must have a player in each "active" roster position each week.
Active/Starting Rosters: The weekly "starting" or "active" roster will consist of:
1 CATCHER
1 1ST BASEMAN
1 2ND BASEMAN
1 3RD BASEMAN
1 SHORTSTOP
3 OUTFIELDERS
1 UTILITY PLAYER (Any position but Pitcher)
5 STARTING PITCHERS
2 RELIEF PITCHERS
DH will fall under Utility Player
Illegal Lineup: If at any time during the season it is discovered that a team posts an illegal lineup, past or current, they will receive zero points for the entire week the infraction occurred. Please make sure you have the correct lineup entered each week, as every team owner can view your roster for each week of the season whenever they desire.
Illegal Lineup Exception: A team with less than the required players in the lineup done unintentionally, will have their vacant players scored zero points only. The remaining players on their roster will earn points like usual. Only the positions left vacant will receive zero points.
This is for unintentional situations only. Any attempts to throw games will be dealt with harshly and subject to possible termination from the league.
KEEPERS (SPECIAL RULES):
Teams may keep up to 6 keepers. They can be from any position, however, when submitting keepers, keep in mind the following rules:
-Keeper Acquired In A Previous Draft or Trade: When a team keeps a player that was drafted (or received in a trade from another team), that keeper will use the round in which he was drafted as his draft position in the current draft. Example: Player A was drafted in the first round in the 2022 draft. If you decide to use him as one of your keepers for the 2023 season, Player A will be placed as your first-round selection for the 2023 draft.
-Player Acquired on Waivers/Free Agency: When a team keeps a player that they picked up on waivers or free agency, that player will be use a 12th Round draft pick for the upcoming draft, or the draft pick closest to the 12th Round, but no earlier. (i.e, 13th, 14th or 15th Round).
If your team doesn't have a pick in a specific round, it will be the round closest to that pick after that round.
EXAMPLE OF MULTIPLE KEEPERS USING THE SAME ROUND:
Team A had 2 picks in the first round of last year's draft (Johnson and Smith). Johnson was their own first rounder and Smith was an additional first rounder acquired via trade.
Before this season's draft, Team A decides to keep both Johnson and Smith (both first rounders).
Assuming Team A does not have 2 picks in the first round, Team A would use Johnson as their 1st round pick and Smith would use their 2nd round pick (because there wasn't a first round slot available). Even though Smith was a 1st round pick, the keeper would be pushed to the 2nd round due to Team A not having an additional 1st round pick.
If Team A had another first round pick, they would use both first-round picks for keeping Johnson and Smith and keep their 2nd round pick.
If a team decides to keep less than 6 players, the extra picks will be made at the end of the draft if necessary to ensure that every team has 26 players at the end of the draft.
The deadline for submitting your list of keepers will be determined by the commissioner sometime during the preseason trading period once the draft date has been determined.
THE DRAFT:
Draft Order: The draft order each season will be determined by the previous year's regular season records in reverse order with two exceptions. These changes are for ROUND 1 ONLY:
1. The first 4 picks in the draft are as follows:
1. Futile Four Winner
2. Futile Four Runner Up
3. Futile Four 1st Round Loser (High Regular Season Point Total)
4. Futile Four 1st Round Loser (Low Regular Season Point Total)
This applies to Round 1 only of the draft.
2.The league champion from the previous season:
The league champion from the previous season will draft last in round one. This applies for Round 1 only of the draft.
Rounds 2-12 will revert back to regular season standings (snake draft).
PLAYOFFS:
How Many Teams Make The Playoffs: 8 teams
Format For Each Playoff Round:
Rounds 1 and 2: 2-week total pts. The team to win 2 games advances. If both teams win a game, the team with the highest total points of the 2 weeks combined will advance.
Championship Round: Best of 3
Playoff Seedings: Division Winners- Seeded 1, 2, 3, respectively according to Tiebreak Rules.
Seeds 4 through 8 are wildcards seeded using the Tiebreak Rules.
See "Tiebreak Rules" in this section below for more info.
Playoff Brackets: Remaining teams after each round will be reseeded according to playoff seedings at the start of the playoffs. The highest seed remaining will always play the lowest seed of the remaining teams in each round.
This is to place more importance on the regular season.
Making the Playoffs Tiebreaker Rules:
1.) Highest Overall Record (Regular Season)
2.) Best Head-2-Head Record of All Tied Teams
3.) Highest Total Fantasy Points
4.) Highest Head-to-Head Fantasy Points
Playoff Game Tiebreakers:
1) Total Bench Points
2) Highest Individual Starter Point Total For That Week
3) Next Highest Individual Starter Point Total For That Week
4) Repeat #3 (If all starters are used and a tiebreaker is still not determined, use the same format using bench players)
FUTILE FOUR PLAYOFF:
For those teams that do not make the Playoffs (teams ranked 9-12 in the standings)
How Many Rounds: 2 Rounds, Best of 3 (both rounds), beginning the same week as the playoffs.
Importance of This Tournament: The winner of this playoff will receive 1st overall pick in the following seasons draft.
Teams That Don't Win: The remaining 3 teams will have their draft picks for the following season revert back to reverse the seasons regular season standings with the exception of Round 1. Round 1 looks like this:
2nd Overall pick: Futile Four Runner Up
3rd Overall pick: Futile Four 1st Round Loser (High Regular Season Point Total)
4th Overall pick: Futile Four 1st Round Loser (Low Regular Season Point Total)
This applies to Round 1 only of the draft
Futile Four Game Brackets:
Round 1:
#9 seed vs #10 seed (Matchup 1); best of 3
#11 seed vs #12 seed (Matchup 2); best of 3
Round 2:
Winner of Matchup 1 vs Winner of Matchup 2; best of 3
(Winner of Round 2 matchup receives #1 pick in next seasons draft)
The bracket for the "Futile Four" tournament is intended to give the lower seeds a little advantage much like a draft lottery.
Futile Four Game Tiebreakers:
1) Total Bench Points
2) Highest Individual Starter Point Total For That Week
3) Next Highest Individual Starter Point Total For That Week
4) Repeat #3 (If all starters are used and a tiebreaker is still not determined, use the same format using bench players)
TRANSACTIONS, FREE AGENTS:
Eligibility: In all transactions (add/drops, free agents, trades), players will play out the week with their current team. All players acquired are not eligible to play until the following scoring period. Any dropped player will also play out the week with the team releasing/trading them.
Roster Limits: A team roster may never have more than the 26 players allowed. Therefore, in order for any owner to pick up a player, they must release another to keep their roster legal. It must be done prior to each new scoring period or your team will earn zero points for that week.
Can't Drop List: To prevent the accidental dropping of star players, a "can't drop list" will be created as a safeguard to prevent this. When you attempt to drop a player that is on this list, your transaction will be rejected. Team owners can still drop these players if they wish, however, you need to contact me if you wish to do so.
WAIVERS:
Length of Waiver Period: 48 hours
During this time, team owners can make a claim for that player. The player may be claimed provided your team is highest in the waiver order of those teams interested in that player. Each week the waiver order will be set based on overall standings with the worst team (by record) at the top of the waiver order and best team at the bottom. Once a team receives a player during any one waivers period, they will be moved to the bottom of the waiver order and every other team moves up one. This process continues until all players on the list have been claimed.
Waiver Order: Worst Overall Record of Teams Involved- This will reset each week based on this format.
Clearing Waivers: If nobody makes a claim for that player in that 48-hour period, they will return to the free agent pool where they can be chosen by anyone on a first-come first-serve basis. This rule is to help the teams at the bottom of the standings have first choice on dropped players to hopefully improve their teams.
Preseason Waivers: Immediately after the draft, a 48-hour waivers period will be run. Any player not already on a team roster will be available using this waivers process. After this waivers period has completed, any player not on a team roster will be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
TRADES:
Process For All Trades: Trades may be done during the season in the following formats:
1.) Player for Player
2.) Player for Draft Pick (Draft Picks are for the upcoming draft only- No future years draft picks are allowed to be traded)
3.) Any combination of #1 and #2
When submitting a trade, both teams must submit the trade to the league commissioner, and if you wish, provide comments as to why this trade benefits all teams involved (especially if it looks a little one sided on paper).
Trades received by the commish will be sent in an email to be voted on by the league. (Make sure your email address is current with the commish at all times)
Voting will last 48 hours from the time the trade is emailed to the league by the commissioner. If there are enough votes to approve/reject a trade, the commish won't wait the full 48 hours to approve/reject the trade.
Trades will be rejected if the majority of team owners that submit a vote for that trade reject the trade. If you do not vote on a trade, it will be assumed that you agree with however the voting turns out. The league commissioner will have final say on all trades.
If the trade involves an uneven swap of players (one player traded for two players is an example) and you are receiving an extra player in a trade, you will have to drop an existing player off your roster. This must be done before your roster deadline each week, or you will have an illegal roster.
Trades For Draft Picks For The Following Season: Any team wishing to trade draft picks for the following season must pay their entry fee for the following season before the trade can be put up for a vote. Draft picks traded during preseason trading are excluded from this rule. (This prevents teams from unloading draft picks for the following season knowing they will not be returning)
Also, there will be no refunds awarded to team owners who pay next seasons entry fee and then decide not to return the following season, so please make sure for certain you are returning before you trade away next seasons draft picks.
Once a trade has been agreed upon and sent to the league commissioner for a vote by the league, team owners may NOT back out of the trade.
Trade Deadline and Playoffs: From the end of your draft through the end of Week #15 (Trade Deadline is the end of Week #15); Unlimited Trades or Transactions
After Week #15: No trades allowed. Only adds and drops will be permitted. As soon as you are eliminated from the playoffs, your roster will be frozen and no adds/drops will be allowed.
As soon as the Fantasy Playoffs are complete: The off-season roster freeze is in effect league wide.
Trading Away Draft Picks At The Trade Deadline (48-hour extension): Team owners wishing to trade draft picks for the following season just before the deadline will have to pay their entry fee for the following season before the trade can be put up for a vote like usual. However, since the trade deadline comes into play, the team owner will have 48 hours from the time he accepts the trade to pay his entry fee, or the trade will be rejected. Once the entry fee is paid, the league commissioner will put the trade up for voting like normal.
Please remember that there are no refunds awarded to team owners who pay next seasons entry fee and then decide not to return the following season, so please make sure for certain you are returning before you trade away next seasons draft picks.
ADDITIONAL SETUP:
Player Pool: All MLB Rosters
Position Eligibility:
HITTERS: 10 games at any position this year or last year
STARTERS: 5 games started this year or last year
RELIEVERS:10 games in relief this year or last year
NOTE: The online league manager lists each player according to their expected position for the upcoming season and according to their position eligibility listed above. If a team owner notices a player fits the criteria of the eligibility listed above, the league office will have to make the change manually. Contact the league commissioner for an official ruling and he will make the change, if applicable
Position Questions: If a player should be in a different position than drafted, please let me know shortly after the draft so I can make the proper adjustments.
Weekly Starting Lineups: Each week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday.
Each fantasy team is responsible for submitting a starting lineup prior to the date/time the league software locks down lineups. Players are locked 5 minutes before their first game of the week. This lineup will be used for the current weeks' games.
If a correct roster is not locked in, the previous weeks roster will be applied for the current week. The exception to this rule is as follows:
Week 1: If you do not submit a lineup for Week 1 before the deadline, your starting lineup will be your 6 Keepers and the first 9 picks of your draft that meet the starting roster criteria. This will be the case regardless of injury. Please submit your roster for Week 1 as you will want to try to avoid this.
Midweek Substitutions (IR Only): If a team should have a player in their starting lineup go on the Injured Reserve List (formerly DL) mid-week, you may make a mid-week substitution for a healthy player from your current roster for that position in the lineup. This can only be done when a player is placed on the IR. Normal substitutions are not allowed mid-week.
IMPORTANT: It is the responsibility of all team owners to make sure that weekly changes get accepted via the online league manager (if you make any). The league office will not be responsible for any changes being late, lost, or misdirected as a result of any computer malfunction, delay, etc. If you are having computer problems, contact the league office before the deadline and he will enter your desired changes for you.
PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
February 20: Team Renewal Deadline-Team owners have until 11:59pm EST this day to renew their teams by paying the season entry fee for the upcoming season. Teams not renewed by this date will be considered vacant and the league commissioner, the following day, will begin the process of filling these teams with new owners according to the waiting list.
Waiting List for Abandoned Teams: Those wishing to sign up for a vacant team will be placed on a waiting list according to the date entry fees are paid. When it is your turn to choose a vacant team, you will be provided with a list of available teams, and you will be able to view the rosters and draft order of those teams before selecting your team. The league commissioner will be contacting these owners shortly after the February 20th deadline listed above.
February 21: Abandoned Team Selection- After the February 20th deadline has passed, vacant teams will begin being filled. Those that are on the waiting list for a vacant team will have choice of all available vacant teams when it is their turn to select. Once you choose your team, you will be able to make trades using the full roster of players you just acquired, in the trading period that follows. You will choose your Keepers at the same time as everyone else in the league and draft in that team's draft position as well.
A NOTE ABOUT ABANDONED/VACANT TEAMS: Not all of these teams are bad. In these leagues, more frequently than not, teams are vacant prior to the next season due to team owner financial issues or time constraints causing them to give up their teams. With a small number of keepers, turning these teams into winners are manageable in the first season.
Trading Period: After all teams are filled in their respective leagues, and if time warrants, a trading period will be conducted where teams can make trades before keepers need to be chosen. I will announce the start of trading when it begins. See trading section of this rules page for more info on how trading works.
Draft Preferences: During preseason trading, each team owner will be contacted to find out their availability for the upcoming draft. Once all feedback has been received, a draft date and time will be chosen based on the best available date/time from that information. This date will be announced to the league as well as the other important preseason dates (preseason trading end date, keepers due date) for your league. NOTE: It's not guaranteed, but I will do my best to choose a draft day that everyone can be present for.
After preseason trading period ends: Up to 6 Keepers are to be chosen by each team owner on your roster page and will be revealed to the league after the deadline to choose keepers has passed. You may keep less than 6 players; however, your additional pick/picks will come at the end of the draft. See Keepers (Special Rules) section for how Keepers will work before submitting your keepers.
On your leagues scheduled draft date and time: Drafting will begin.
NOTE: You do not have to remember all these dates. This is just an overview of how things work. More specific dates will be provided as this process moves along.
DRAFTING PROCEDURE:
Drafting will be done all in one day. The draft timer will be set at 90 seconds for the entire draft.
If this is your first draft at Fantrax, please participate in some mock drafts on the site so that you are familiar with the draft room when it comes time for the real thing. Also, please conduct your drafting on a computer that is fast enough to handle the draft room.
Here are 4 options you have in order to make your pick:
1.) Make the pick yourself within the 90 seconds.
2.) If you cannot make the draft, place players in your draft queue and click on "Auto Pilot" The first available player listed in your draft queue will be chosen for you immediately when you are on the clock, instead of being chosen from the draft rankings list. It will not wait for your time limit to expire and will keep the draft moving. This method is strongly encouraged if you aren't going to be available for the draft.
3.) If you have no players on "auto pilot" and your time expires, your pick will be made for you by the draft rankings list from either the default list or the list you created. You can make changes to this list if you wish, but this is where the player will be chosen from if your time runs out.
4.) You can leave the commissioner 2 lists:
List 1: a list of positions that you would like drafted for each round/pick of your draft.
List 2: a list of players in order of preference, listed by position (There should be a total of 240 players on this list)
Each pick of your draft, the commissioner will look at List 1 to determine which position to draft for that round/pick. Then he will draft the highest-ranking player still available on List 2 for each pick.
Click on this
Draft Instructions link for more information on drafting. You can also contact the commish if you have additional questions.
Dropping players during the draft: There will be no dropping of players, nor will there be any trading allowed, during the draft under any circumstances.
Waiver Period after the Draft: Once the draft is over, all players not on a team roster will be placed in a 48-hour waiver period, also known as preseason waivers.
Teams have 48 hours to make claims on players not taken in the draft. This works the same way as normal waivers except the waiver order will be determined by the raw Round 2 draft order. For more info on how waivers works, please see "Waivers" section above.
After the waiver period is complete, all players not on a roster are now free agents and can be added on a first come-first serve basis.
SCORING:
| BATTING: |
| At Bat: | -0.5 points | Strikeout: | -0.5 points |
| Single: | 2 points | Run Scored: | 1 point |
| Double: | 3 points | Stolen Base: | 2 points |
| Triple: | 4 points | Caught Stealing: | -1 point |
| Homerun: | 5 points | Hit By Pitch: | 1 point |
| RBI: | 1 point | Error: | -1 point |
| Walks: | 1 point | Grand Slam: | 4 points |
| PITCHING: |
| Win: | 6 points | Effectiveness: | (2 x IP) - (2 x ER) |
| Loss: | -1 point | Walks Allowed: | -0.5 points |
| Save: | 6 points | Strikeout: | 0.5 points |
| Blown Save: | -2 points | Hits Allowed: | -0.5 points |
| Quality Start: | 3 points | Wild Pitch: | -1 point |
| Complete Game: | 5 points | Balk: | -1 point |
| Shutout: | 5 points | Hit Batter: | -1 point |
| No Hitter: | 10 points | | |
We would be happy to answer any questions on rules not covered here. Please contact the league office at info@primefantasysports.com if you have any.
