1. Number of Teams
The plan for 2018 will be to continue with the existing 8 franchises and captains: El Diablos (C. Phillips), Flying Squirrels (D. Braden), Holy Balls (Paquin), Islanders (Linebrink), King Friday (Castle), See Yas (Corbett), Stinky Nuts (M. Phillips), and Wicked Aces (M. Villarreal). In order to sustain the 8 teams we will need to have at least 40 dedicated players registered before the draft. A "dedicated player" is someone who intends on playing the majority of his team's games. So, with the eight captains counted, this will require 32 other players sign up. This is to ensure depth with dependable playrs on all rosters. Providing each team with five players that they can count on to be there most weeks will reduce the likelihood we'll have to see teams forfeit or field only three players. If we fall short of 40 "dedicated players," we will relegate two teams and proceed with only six.1 In the event it comes to this a random draw will be used to determine the two teams to be relegated.
Player registration is now open. Sign up here.
1 Another option to avoid relegation with fewer registered players would be to drop to two fielders behind the pitcher, thus making a full team equal three players. This would drop the total number of "dedicated players" needed to 32. If necessary, this option vs relegation can be discussed at the Winter Meetings next month; date TBD.
2. The Draft
As has been public knowledge since the summer, the auction draft is being replaced with a snake draft for the 2018 season. For those unfamiliar with the term, a snake draft follows a similar format to standard talent drafts (see: NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB...) with teams selecting a player when their spot comes up in the order. The difference with a snake draft is the the order flips with each round: i.e. the first pick in round one has the last pick in round two; the last pick in round one has the first pick in round two.2 The draft will continue until all players are selected, or all teams have maxed out their rosters at 7 players. Since there is little direct carryover from the 2017 season, with only captains retained, those results will not directly decide the draft order. Draft order for 2018 will be determined by random number generator on a Facebook live broadcast with the following stipulations:
- Teams that missed the playoffs in 2017 will have 4 numbers
- Teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs will have 2 numbers
- Teams that played in the Championship Series will have 1 number
- El Diablos: 1
- Flying Squirrels: 2
- Holy Balls: 3-4
- Islanders: 5-8
- King Friday: 9-10
- See Yas: 11-12
- Stinky Nuts: 13-16
- Wicked Aces: 17-20
As was the case in 2017, rookies are allowed to register to play for a team of their choice or for the draft/waivers. Veteran WSEM players must enter the draft or be signed on waivers after the draft. The cut off for be classified as a rookie is the player having less than 60 career plate appearances.
2 Islanders have King Friday's 1st and 2nd round picks. Wicked Aces have See Yas' 1st and 3rd round picks. King Friday has Islanders' 3rd and 4th round picks. Holy Balls have King Friday's 5th round pick.
