Multi-player League with Fantasy Draft Start?
 

I have a group of about 15 friends who have played fantasy baseball together for more than a decade. We're looking for something new with a little more involvement, and I've been intrigued by OOTP and what it may offer.

Would it be possible to create a quasi-fantasy-baseball world wherein (1) our 15 human users would control 15 teams while the CPU would control the rest and (2) where we'd begin the season with a fantasy-style draft wherein all MLB (and/or minor league) players are loaded into a draft where the humans and CPU teams would pick in order until rosters are full?

Instead of keeping traditional fantasy baseball scoring, we'd simply compete over time in a traditional sense (e.g., division champs, playoffs, World Series, Cy Young awards, MVP, ROTY) that would provide a sense of accomplishment and competition.

Is something like this plausible in OOTP? In short, mixing human and computer owners in a 30-team MLB scenario that begins with all players in a fantasy-style draft; could we do that?

Yes you can, but in my experience the CPU controlled teams will not be particularly active or well-run.

Is it possible, then, to have an MLB league with only X number of teams, where each team is operated by a human? In other words, it would be in a world with major retractions, from 30 teams to maybe 12 or 18 teams.

I suspect the implications of this approach would be significant, with much more depth in pitching and bench strength, so each team would have more talent, and the Free Agent pool would be much larger.

Can you create a league/environment like that? If you were looking to have something in OOTP to replace a traditional fantasy baseball experience (doesn't have to replicate fantasy baseball, but be similarly fun and challenging), what would you recommend for a group of about 15 friends?

You can absolutely do that. There is an option in-game to schedule a fantasy draft, which dumps everybody to the draft pool. Once that's done you can remove teams and realign leagues as needed - just make sure to regenerate schedules for whatever leagues you modify. It does tend to skew the talent pool for a while, but that evens out over time.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but a follow up question. When it dumps the players into the draft pool does that include all of the existing minor leaguers as well, so that the drafting can continue as necessary to draft a full minor league system?

Thank you