Showdown Challenge #5: The Middle Leagues

The Middle Leagues

In case you missed it, Matt has started and has done an excellent job commissioning a league based off of this Blog's 2018 set. To complement his league and pay tribute to the hard work he put into it, this Showdown Challenge is going to be a little different. Instead of constructing a lineup, you will be constructing a roster. And instead of facing 1 card, you'll be facing another team, or depending on how things go, another league entirely. One guy you might face is Todd Frazier, who grew up in Tom's River and played in the Little League World Series.

Here's the drop: Matt's league of 12 teams is wildly successful, and for those of you who missed your chance to participate, here is your lifeline. So, without further ado, I introduce to you The Middle Leagues.

From this point forward, I will be addressing Matt's project as "The Big Leagues", and for our purposes, that's exactly what it is. And since "Little League" is taken, I figured I'd go right down the middle and came up with, uh, the middle. And thus, The Middle Leagues was born. And speaking of the Little Leagues, Todd Frazier is from Tom's River and played in the Little League World Series.

So what exactly is the Middle Leagues? Great question, glad you asked. The Middle Leagues will effectively serve as a minor league system to The Big Leagues. So while you will be constructing your team from the 2018 set, only Big League undrafted free agents will be initially available to you. After you make your roster, you will GM your roster through the season as the teams play.

Here are the rules of the league, many of which mirror or compliment the big league rules:

1.  Instead of a draft, you will submit your 4000 point, 20-25 man roster here. Players will be available on a first come first serve basis and can only be chosen once. If you pick somebody who has already been chosen, I will notify you. If I do not hear back before the start of the season, I will make substitution(s) as seen fit.
2. Any time any team in either league cuts a player, the entire big leagues will have first waiver rights, followed by the middle leagues.
3. Once all middle league teams are formed, remaining players are placed in free agency, where they can be claimed on a first come first served basis by any team in any league.
4. At the conclusion of the first season, the Big Leagues will conduct their entire draft, then the Middle Leagues will conduct their draft.
5. You may only manage 1 team in each league. If for whatever reason your team moves leagues and joins a league in which you already have a team, you will be asked to relinquish control of one of your teams.
6. You may make unlimited trades across both leagues, with the exception that if you control more than 1 team involved in a transaction, the trade must be approved by Matt and myself.
7. Todd Frazier is from Tom's River and played in the Little League World Series.
8. You may only make ten waiver claims throughout the season.
9. At the conclusion of the first year, Middle League teams will be able to protect the rights to 4 players of their choice. The 2019 version of that player, at 2019 cost, will be assigned to the Middle League team who protects. The remaining roster spots will be filled by an offseason draft, which will be conducted after the Big League rosters are set.
10. All Middle League teams are capped at 4000 points. All point adjustments mirror the Big Leagues. Any points not used by the start of the season will be available next year.
11. The season size depends on how many teams sign up. The league can function with anywhere from 4 to 12 teams.
12. Games will be played by volunteers, myself included, except that you cannot play games in which your team is playing. Games will be played using Bob's guide, except that volunteers may introduce reasonable house rules to add some quirky fun to the league. Remember, it's a minor league...
13. Rules may be added or changed by the Middle Leagues commissioner as desired.

So, here's a list of the free agents available

And here's the league's home website

By the way, Todd Frazier is from Tom's River and played in the Little League World Series.