Sticking with the theme of keeper leagues, I want to share some of my favorite free links for finding information on minor league players. Some of these may already be familiar to you, but hopefully some will provide you with new sources of information as you prepare for your fantasy baseball draft.

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k9topprospectspt1 – If you are looking for rookies for this season as well as the future, Jason Grey of EPSN has his top 100 list available. I have played against Jason in several NFBC leagues in Las Vegas and he is a tough competitor in auction leagues. He has some really good insight into players along with recommendations from time to time. If Jason is speaking on fantasy baseball, I am always listening.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3840355 – Also of ESPN, Keith Law has his top 100 prospect list up as well. The top 25 are free to read, the next 75 require an ESPN insider subscription.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/ – great place for finding career minor league statistics. Pitcher stats include hr/9, k/9 and bb/9 ratios.

www.minorleagueball – site by John Sickels, has a good selection of current prospects as well as prospect retro section which will hopefully give you some insight into current major league players and how their minor league performance transferred to the big leagues. Also has prospects per team which tend to draw quite a few comments so if you like discussing the minor leaguers of your favorite team, this is a good site for you.

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/ – if you play in an AL or NL only league, this is a must reading site to give you a look at player contracts. It is helpful to review contracts that are expiring after the current season so you can determine people that may be potentially traded depending on the team they play for. Because you lose players in the off-season that are traded in most leagues, this site will help you avoid that potential problem from year to year.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ – a lot of the information in Baseball America is subscription content, but there is a free Ask BA section where staff members answer questions that can provide some insight into players as well as a weekly Hot Sheet once the minor league season starts.

www.minorleaguebaseball.com – the official site of minor league baseball.

Do you care if you win your fantasy baseball keeper league? It seems like a simple question but the answer seems to be a little more complex for some people who play fantasy baseball.

Let’s assume a few parameters and you will see what I mean. The assumptions are as follows: it is a keeper league (the number of keepers does not matter), the league will redraft every 5 years and there is an entry fee to play of over $100.

Now you might say, a $100 or more does not matter to me as an entry fee, I am paying that money for the joy of playing fantasy baseball for six months and that is a cheaper form of entertainment than anything else I could do for that same time period. To which I say, that is probably true, however, if that is your mindset, you are better off playing fantasy leagues at Yahoo or some other free service where there is no entry fee involved then.

Most owners, will buy a magazine or several magazines, sign up for newsletters / projections / draft software, etc. so in addition to the entry fee you are paying, tack on another $50-$100 in draft materials / seasonal information. On top of that, factor in the time that you will spend playing fantasy baseball. Wading through all of the information over the internet, watching Baseball Tonight or watching games on ESPN, add on another 10 hours per week of your time spent on fantasy baseball. Taking that 10 hours per week times an average of $20 per hour (or insert whatever $ amount you think your time is worth) times 30 weeks of the fantasy baseball season equals $6,000. I know, I know, this is not actual money coming out of your pocket, but my point is regardless of the entry fee, there is a cost (investment) associated with playing fantasy baseball, and like any investment in stocks, or certificates of deposit or even a savings account, you should want to see a return on that investment, either in the form of a check or trophy or both.

So with that out of the way, let’s examine the difference between a keeper league and a one year or annual league. Mmmm, there really is no difference. The categories are the same, the rules are the same, the only thing that changes between the two in most cases is the mindset of the owner. Okay, stop, go back and re-read that last sentence again, because it is important to think about.  The one thing I have noticed most in the years I have been playing fantasy baseball keeper leagues when determining the difference between the people who win leagues and the ones who don’t is the mindset of the owner.

For example, we just had a trade deadline in one of my basketball leagues recently. I offered another owner who is bunched together with five other owners in a tight race three players for LeBron James. These were three solid players who would have most likely given him the title and the cash prize. His response when he rejected the offer was, I can’t do the trade, it gives me too many keepers for next season. Wow! I can’t say that I was shocked, because I have heard a similar type answer in different sports, in different fantasy leagues  every year I play, but it still baffles me that when an owner has a great chance to win the league, they pass on it, in order to protect their keepers for the following season.

There are no guarantees for next year in a keeper league. Improvements of players, declines in performances, injuries, and changes in players roles all make it hard to assume that because your team is in the top three one year it will be in the top three the following year.   My advice is when the opportunity presents itself, go for the win every time.

If you have only played keeper leagues in the past, it is a good idea to try a one year league to get yourself in a different mindset when it comes to trading and waiver pickups. This will help you strike a good balance then in your keeper league for still keeping young talent, while at the same time playing to win your league.

Bill Simmons of EPSN had a great line in one of his recent articles regarding the Portland Trailblazers, saying “Portland seems content to be just a Promising Young Team With a Huge Internet Following for the next 12 years.” Don’t let this happen to your fantasy baseball team. It might be nice, to have the best collection of young talent, but if you have no league titles attached to your name, it doesn’t really matter, especially since your team will be broken up in a few years anyway for the redraft.