GMs,
I hope all of you are safe and healthy during these crazy times. I know the pandemic has affected everyone in different ways, and my hope is that the fantasy play associated with FGM, will be a way to do some “normal” things. As you know, our annual FYPD is set to begin on Sunday, November 1st @ 9:00 am ET.
The Draft Room is all set up for everyone to post their picks when their turn in the Draft Order arrives. As a reminder, here are a few things to know and a few things to do to help the draft proceed smoothly.
1) Round 1 will be a 12 hour clock...there is no night pause. Rounds 2-10 will be on an 8 hour clock.
2) Participation is optional. No one is required to participate in the FGM FYPD. If you do not want to participate, or want to have your team be on autopick, please let me know as soon as possible. That said, for the 1st round only, if the 12 hour clock runs out and you have not made your pick, a player will automatically be autopicked and placed on your team in an available roster spot, MLB or MiLB.
3) This year, the MLB had only a 5 round draft, which means many of the prospects on Baseball America's Top 500 List did not get drafted or sign an MLB contract. If there is a question regarding a particular player, you can always cross check whether that player signed with an MLB team by searching the Players' List in Fantrax. If a player did not sign an MLB contract he is not eligible to be drafted.
4) Please let me know if you want to be placed on autopick. Autopicks are always the highest available player. You can also submit a list of picks to me if you think you won't be available for your upcoming pick.
5) I sent out a leaguewide email a few weeks ago asking all of you to open up some MiLB roster spots for your drafted players. A few GMs have done so, but many have not. Just to be clear, your 1st Round pick will be placed on an open roster spot, but beginning with the 2nd Round, you must have open MiLB roster spots to participate---unless, of course, you want your draftees to be placed on your MLB roster. Just be aware, MiLB roster spots are not counted against your available cap, but if a player is placed on your MLB roster, he becomes part of your salary cap obligations.
6) If anyone, regardless of the reason, has decided not to participate in the upcoming season, please let me know as soon as possible, so a replacement GM can be found.
7) Colby has managed to resurrect our PM to email alerts, so I will be sending out courtesy PMs throughout the FYPD. Please be aware that the 12 hour or 8 hour clock starts from the time the last pick was made, not from the arrival of the courtesy PM. I have run the FYPDs for awhile now, and sometimes I can't send out the courtesy emails in a timely manner, for whatever reason, so I recommend all of you subscribe to the 2020 FYPD Draft Thread (by clicking on NOTIFY). This will alert you when a pick is made. You can always opt out when you are finished drafting by clicking the same NOTIFY button.
8) I will continually update your ProFSL and Fantrax rosters throughout the draft.
Finally, my hope is that all GMs will participate, or at least acknowledge that they are aware the draft is underway. This will be our "League Check-In" so to speak. In the past, when GMs skip the draft without a word, it's an indication that they are no longer interested in being a part of FGM. I realize that league participation is optional, and no one is under any sort of obligation to participate, but our league success relies on active participation. Some GMs are more active than others, but even minimum participation requires some communication. So again, please let me know what your status will be during the draft. I will post this PM communique on the Transactions Board and you can reply there if you like or simply reply to this PM.
Thanks for being a part of FGM!
Ernie - Flash
