Is that the school bell ringing, or my head? Our school system is like most school systems and has already begun. However, it only makes life more hectic, not easier. But I still manage to check the mail, and I got the following solicitation letter. I’m thinking about signing up my kid for next year.

Dear Mr. Strausberg:

Here at Keepingem Academy we subscribe to the highest of standards and offer our students both a top-level education as well as life-long lessons that will stay with them as they develop.

We invite you to visit our campus and see the facilities for yourself. In the interim, allow me to go into detail about the curriculum that your aspiring early grade-schooler will experience here at the Academy:

Math: With its absolute necessity, Mathematics is probably one of our most intensive fields of studies. Your child will learn the basics of statistics and statistical analysis (mean regression, probability, sampling size issues), three-year averages, and minor league equivalencies. Your child will also learn more abstract theories, like four keepers are greater than one stud or the controversial “addition by subtraction” theory.

History: We believe in a less traditional study where past performance does not guarantee similar results. However, we will look at different opportunities and how different individuals have handled different situations, whether it is those in power like the general manager, or less-heralded individuals like the utility infielder. A typical unit is our award-winning “Beane vs Sabean: A Contrast in Styles.”

Science: Various fields of study are offered by our faculty, but our two most popular courses are "Chemistry: Finding the Elements that Combine for a Winning Team" and "Psychology: Examining and Deciphering the Mind of Fellow Owners."

Language Arts: Your child will learn how to communicate both orally and on-line, an important skill in trade negotiations, message board banter, and draft day misdirection.

Foreign Language: With our world becoming more international by the day, your child will learn all the necessary language, information, and impact for non-indigenous talent like “posting,” “Dominican League,” and "World Baseball Classic."

As you can see, it is quite an enriching curriculum. We look forward to meeting with you. Please contact our admissions office.

Sincerely,

Keepingem Academy Head Master Kennesaw

That’s it! Forget signing up my kids, I’m enrolling today!

In the meantime, allow me to provide a little instruction as well. Every year around this time, I’m asked the same similar question: “Our league is thinking about becoming a keeper league. What should we do?”

The first part of my response is that if your league is a redraft league, start from scratch. I’m always amazed how many leagues want to just flip their current rosters over to a keeper-league format. If it was unknown that the league would switch to a keeper format, allowing guys to keep players on their roster during the recent redraft season is just asking for trouble. Maybe somebody traded Evan Longoria for Gary Sheffield. Maybe an owner was deliberating between injured players John Smoltz or Yovani Gallardo. You think the decision-making process might have been different if owners knew it was going to be a keeper league? You better believe it. If you try to do this, someone will complain, and they will be quite justified.

So, now that you’ve decided to start from scratch, you need to decide why you want a keeper league. Is it because you want owners who are out of it to have a reason to continue to follow the season? Do you want to retain studs from one year to the next? Do you want to reward good drafting? Do you love the minor leagues? Use this answer to guide other keeper league issues such as number of keepers, length of contract, and other restrictions like the cost of keeping players. For example, if you love minor leaguers, you should seriously consider a dynasty league. Rosters, or at least taxi squads, are much bigger, and the length of fantasy player contracts is far longer. However, these leagues are far less attractive to the casual owner, and replacing an owner can be much more difficult. If you want to retain studs year after year, put as few restrictions on keepers as possible (for example, auction price/round drafted remain consistent, number of keepers is unlimited, there is no maximum on years that a player can be kept). However, I caution you that if one or two teams become so dominant after a couple years, others are less likely to stay in the league. Every choice will have its pros and cons, and there are tons of different options. But if you know why you want to have a keeper league, then choosing the how is much easier.

Doesn't everyone have a batting cage in their house? Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Lastly, I like every column to have at least one concrete player recommendation for those of you in keeper leagues, so here is this week’s: Any Angel hitter.
Consider their outfield: Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and possibly Garrett Anderson are all valuable for at least one more year and are future Hall-of-Famers. But how much longer will each be playing? Juan Rivera has shown that he just needs playing time. Reggie Willits needs to round out his game, but he can flat out fly on the basepaths (27 SBs last year in fewer than 450 ABs, and he consistently stole 40+ in the minors).
Consider the corners: Chone Figgins is a proven speedster, but he’s already 30 years old. Brandon Wood should hit .275 and be at least a 20/20 player next year. Mark Teixeira is a stud, but he might leave after this year. Robb Quinlan is nothing special, but he’s certainly serviceable in a deep AL-only league if Teixeira leaves. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Angels try to move Freddy Sandoval to first base, either. He's hitting .328 with 14 HRs and 6 SBs at AAA.
Up the middle, in addition to Wood, Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis, Sean Rodriguez, and Howie Kendrick all have impressive minor league numbers and possess some definite upside potential.
At catcher, you have to love the combined 30-HR potential of Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis.
Get these players now, because if the Angels find themselves in the World Series again, these players will not be cheap.

NEXT WEEK: Coffee talk

Mark Strausberg was a top-three student, if you count a “C” as the third-highest grade.  If you think his keeper advice is just barely passing, email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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