How many teams in a feeder league to have enough draftees?

[marc]

I was hoping maybe someone from the beta team could answer this so I can spend the next month setting my league up.

How many teams do you typically need in a feeder league to stock the parent league?


For example, if I have a 16 team league with 1 level of minor leagues, how many teams should a feeder league have?


I would really appreciate it if someone could weigh in on this and let us know if there is a certain proportion that works best.

[Curtis]

I'm not a beta team member, but I've read most of what they have to say on this.

The answer is: "It depends." One of the things it depends on is how many teams need to be fed into. In your case that would be 32, which means you'll need 128-160 draftees each year. (I tend to go low, but if the aging/development curves have been straightened out, the higher number would probably be better.) Another thing to think about is whether you want to provide just enough draftees, or enough so that even the team with the final pick has some choices left, in which case you'll need more.

The next two things it depends on are how many years players will remain in a feeder league and how large the rosters for the feeder leagues will be. If we assume a 24 man roster and six years of eligibility, each feeder team will produce an average of four draft-eligible players per year. If we assume 28 man rosters and four years of eligibility, seven players per team per year, but you'd have to wonder if they got in enough playing/developmental time.

[marc]

That's pretty darn close to what I was looking for, very helpful, thank you.