Draft day is the most important time for your fantasy team. I ask all team owners to make an honest effort to be prepared on draft day. The following information is the draft instructions for each keeper league draft. If you are having a draft in the near future, please read this page in its entirety as you will need to be aware of all topics listed in here. You also have the option of printing this page also.
IMPORTANT INFO TO REMEMBER DURING THE DRAFT:
Before we get into the draft itself there are 9 very important things you will need to do during the draft to ensure that none of your picks get skipped and you get the players you want:
- ALWAYS KEEP AT LEAST ONE PLAYER IN THE DRAFT QUEUE: Even if you show up for the draft, its important to do this because you could get locked out at any time during the draft and it may even be during your time to pick. If you have a player in queue and you get locked out, there is a better chance that you will still get the player you want than if you left it empty.
- REFRESH THE SCREEN (AND KNOW HOW TO DO IT): The screen should refresh after every pick, but it is not a 100% guarantee. There may be a time when the countdown clock is stuck at zero. If this should happen, simply click on the refresh button to refresh the page. There are other options you can use depending on what you are using. For instance, if you are using a PC, right click your mouse anywhere in the draft room, then click "refresh" or push the <F5> button on your keyboard.
- MAKE SURE YOU CAN MAKE A PICK ON YOUR OWN: All team owners should know how to make a pick on their own before the draft starts. If you are unsure, contact the commish to help you out. DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE DRAFT TO ADDRESS THIS. IT WILL BE TOO LATE (Its better to get clarification before the draft starts, then holding up the draft.) The old adage "there are no dumb questions" applies here so don't be afraid to ask.
- BE AWARE OF WHEN YOUR NEXT PICK IS: Don't miss a pick from being unaware of when it is your turn. You never know how fast the person/people drafting ahead of you will be. Remember, someone on autopilot will have their pick made immediately for them, which gives you less time, so be prepared for that possibility.
- MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO PICK WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN: If your time runs out, you may receive a player you don't want. Also, like in #4 above, you never know how fast the person/people drafting ahead will be.
- MISSED PICKS PUT ON AUTOPILOT: In an effort to keep the draft moving, the draft room is set up that if you miss a pick, your team will be immediately placed on autopilot for your next pick until it is shut off again. If you are still in the draft room and you have a pick skipped, please be aware of this and turn it off before your next pick.
- TOWARDS THE END OF THE DRAFT, ALWAYS KEEP THE UT SPOT OPEN BEFORE YOUR PICK: As of this posting, Fantrax draft software will only place players in your starting lineup when you draft them. If your starters are full in the draft room, it will reject the pick. Always keep the UT spot open in your draft room to rectify this.
- TRY TO DRAFT ON A COMPUTER AND PREFERABLY A NEWER MODEL: This will prevent problems with a computer being too slow to keep up with the draft. (If you absolutely can't draft on faster computer and your computer is slow, arrange a backup plan with the commish where you can communicate your pick to him and he can make the pick for you). It is not recommended drafting on a tablet or cellphone.
- PARTICIPATE IN A FANTRAX MOCK DRAFT: Especially if you are a new team owner and haven't used Fantrax before. Be familiar with the draft room and how to use it before the draft begins. This prevents missed picks and making errors picking players. The commish CANNOT stop the draft and provide instructions on draft day.
- HAVE A BACKUP PLAN IN PLACE TO MAKE YOUR PICK IN CASE SOMETHING GOES WRONG: Fantrax is pretty reliable, but there is always a chance it is not perfect, so please do not rely on it 100%. If you wish to discuss with the commish a backup plan prior to your draft, you are welcome to do that. Just don't wait until draft day to do this. It may be too late.
*******The league commish is available to help with anyone who asks for it. PLEASE MAKE SURE IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES TO GET THEM RESOLVED BEFORE THE DRAFT. Once the draft starts, unless it’s a Fantrax issue and/or affects everyone in the league, the commissioner cannot hold up the draft.
DRAFT DAY:
The draft will be conducted 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.
TO ACCESS THE DRAFT ROOM: Click on "Draft Room" on the menu at the top of any page in your league. If you aren't familiar with how to navigate the draft room, you can click on any of the question marks (in blue) on the page to get more information about a section of the room.
CHAT AREA IN DRAFT ROOM:
On draft day, please be in the Draft Room at least a few minutes before the draft so you are ready to go when the draft starts.
DRAFT ROOM BEHAVIOR: Recent seasons we have not had a problem with this, however we have had some incidents in the past, so a zero tolerance policy has been put in place with regards to behavior in the chat area of the draft room. If you use the chat area of the draft room, please be respectful of one another during the draft so that a good time is had by all.
NOT ABLE TO MAKE THE DRAFT:
If you are unable to make the draft, select one of the following options and let the commish know:
- Set the queue on your draft page: Drag and drop players into your queue once you get into the draft room.
- Set the player rankings according to your draft preference in the draft room: Choose "Customize Player Rankings under "Pre Draft Tasks" in the Draft Central page.
- Email 2 separate lists to the league commish:
List 1.) Create a list for each position ranking the players at each position highest to lowest ranked.
List 1 Example:
Shortstop List
Outfield List
Pitchers List
List 2.) Create another list that indicates which position should be drafted in each round.
List 2 Example:
Rd 1: P
Rd 2: SS
Rd 3: OF
List 1 should have enough players to cover the number of picks for the entire draft.
The commish will take the position chosen for that particular pick (List 2) and draft your highest ranked player available from your player list (List 1). If the player list runs out before your roster is full, the remaining picks will be made automatically by Fantrax for you using the Fantrax player rankings list regardless of injury or position, so make sure you have enough players to cover the whole draft.
Please Note: There is a place to do this at the bottom of the "Rank Players" page on Fantrax. After you create the list, you can send it to the commish, if this is the method you wish the commish to use to draft your team for you.
Please Note: There is a place to do this at the bottom of the "Rank Players" page on Fantrax. After you create the list, you can send it to the commish, if this is the method you wish the commish to use to draft your team for you.
RANK PLAYERS PAGE:
At the top menu in your Fantrax league, you should see a link called "Rank Players". This is just another tool you have at your disposal to use to prep for the draft. If you have any questions navigating the page, please contact the commish and he will be happy to help.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS:
If you have any additional questions after reading this page, please contact the commish well in advance of the draft so your issue can get sorted out before the draft. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL IN THEIR DRAFTS!!!