SCS Original MLB - Game Guide
Everything you need to know about scoring, roster rules, trades, and gameplay.
Overview
At Salary Cap Sports (SCS) you select and manage a roster of players that score SCS points based on their performance in real world games.
A few important points about game play at Salary Cap Sports:
- Free to play - Cash prizes for top overall finishers
- Start with $50Mil. Build a team to compete for most total points over the course of the regular season.
- You receive 3 new hitter and pitcher trades each week. Player prices change daily.
- The global Leaderboard tracks the top managers
- Leagues are available. Invite your friends!
- Roster consists of 9 position players, 5 pitchers
Prizes
- Grand Prize - $500 cash
- 2nd Place - $300 cash
- 3rd Place - $100 cash
Timeline
Important dates for the SCS Original game:
- SCS Preseason start date February 13th. You can create a team and start building your roster
- The SCS Original game officially starts on March 25th
- The first player price change occurs on March 28th
- You will receive your first new trades on March 30th
- The All-Star break is from July 13th to July 17th
- The SCS and MLB seasons end on September 28th
Creating a Team
If you are not already a Salary Cap Sports member, you must register for an account.
Once you have registered and logged in, you'll be prompted to choose which sport you'd like to play. After choosing a sport, you'll be prompted to choose which game you'd like to play within that sport. With the game chosen, you'll be presented with information about the game and you'll see a 'Create Team' button. If the 'Create Team' button is not available, this means the sport or game is not currently in season. You can choose a different sport from the menu at the top of the page.
Your team will start the season with an alloted amount of cap space to build a team with. This allotment is your Franchise Value. Each player you add to your team has an individual price. The price of each player you add to your roster will be subtracted from your Available Franchise Value.
Scoring
| Position | Stat | Scoring | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitter | Single | 10 points per single | |
| Hitter | Double | 20 points per double | |
| Hitter | Triple | 30 points per triple | |
| Hitter | Home Run | 40 points per home run | |
| Hitter | Runs | 10 points per run | |
| Hitter | Runs Batted In | 10 points per run batted in | |
| Hitter | Walk | 10 points per walk | |
| Hitter | Hit By Pitch | 10 points per HBP | |
| Hitter | Stolen Base | 20 points per stolen base | |
| Hitter | Caught Stealing | -10 points per caught stealing | |
| Hitter | Strikeout | -5 points per strikeout | |
| Pitcher | Inning Pitched | 24 points per inning pitched | This equates to 8 points per batter retired |
| Pitcher | Earned Runs | -20 points per earned run allowed | |
| Pitcher | Strikeout | 10 points per strikeout | |
| Pitcher | Hits Allowed | -5 points per hit allowed | |
| Pitcher | Walks Allowed | -5 points per walk allowed | |
| Pitcher | Hit Batters | -5 points per batter hit | |
| Pitcher | Wins | 80 points per win | |
| Pitcher | Losses | -30 points per loss | |
| Pitcher | Saves | 60 points per save | |
| Pitcher | Blown Save | -10 points per blown save | |
| Pitcher | Holds | 40 points per hold |
* Pitchers do NOT get credit for batting stats and hitters do NOT get credit for pitching stats.
* The tiebreaker for weekly head-to-head games will be broken by: 1. Most total HR's. 2. Most total K's. 3. Coin flip.
Additional Notes:
- All official scoring changes found within 3 days of a game's finish will be applied retroactively.
- Scoring decisions for postponed, cancelled or suspended games will be made solely at the discretion of SCS. Decisions about postponed, cancelled or suspended games will be communicated through the 'Home' section of the web site.
Roster Management
Roster requirements
Creating initial roster
To fill your initial roster you simply need to buy players for each of the empty position slots on your team. To buy a player, you can either start in the Roster page and click 'Buy' on each empty position or you can go directly to the Players page and search for players. Once you have found a player you want to buy in the Players page, you click on the player's Price to buy that player.
New teams will be built differently depending on whether the team is created during preseason or after the season has begun:
- If you create a team during the preseason, you will have unlimited trades until the season begins. You can buy and sell players as many times as you need.
- If you create a team during the regular season, you can buy and sell players an unlimited number of times on the day the team was created. Each player will lock when their game starts on that day/week or when the clock strikes midnight EST. In other words, on the second day of ownership you will need to use one of your allotted trades to make a roster move.
Please note: In the 'SCS Original' game you must have a full roster. 25 Points will be deducted from your team every day for each open roster spot.
What if the Price is not clickable for the player I want to buy?
If you can't click on the price for a player, this means the player is not available to buy at the moment. Below are the reasons this could happen:
- You have not selected a team in the Teams page. Make sure you select a team before trying to buy players for the team.
- The player's game is in progress or already completed for that day/week.
- For SCS Baseball, trading is disabled between 10pm and 7am EST each day during the season.
Managing Roster during the season
During the season, you can buy and sell players at any time after the lock period and before the player's game starts for that day/week. Each Sell transaction consumes a Trade, Buy transactions do not consume Trades. This means you can sell a player and buy their replacement, all with one Trade.
The selling of one player and buying of another can be done in one step or in two:
- To Sell/Buy in one step, in the Players page, search for a player to buy and click on their price. The next page you see will ask you which player you would like to sell. Choose the player from your roster that you'd like to sell and confirm the transaction.
- To Sell/Buy in two steps, in the Roster page, click the price of a player on your team to sell them and then separately search for and buy their replacement through the Players page.
Completing the Sell/Buy transaction in one step is quicker, and can be beneficial if it is close to game time.
SCS provides injury news for players when it's available to us. Please do not depend solely on SCS for your injury information. Trades will not be retroactively undone in the event of an injury.
General Strategy for the 'Original' game
- Franchise Value Matters. Many successful managers prioritize growing Franchise Value in the early part of the season. Greater Franchise Value allows you to buy higher priced players, and accumulate more points, later in the season.
- Look for Bargains. Choosing bargain priced players that outperform expectations will help you to accumulate points and save salary. That extra salary can then be spent on the rest of your team.
- Play the Market. Buy low, sell high. By buying players in high demand and then selling them to reap the gains, you can increase your total team value and buy better, higher-priced players.
- Be Aware of Injuries. Injuries impact a player's ability to score points and their price, and can be an important part of fantasy sports.
- Know Your Opponent.The strength of a player's opponent will often impact their performance on any given day. Facing a tough opponent (for example: a dominant ace pitcher) is a prime example of this.
- Schedules are Important.Your players can't score points if they aren't playing! Pay attention to off days, rainouts, and NFL bye weeks.
Trade Management
How do trades work?
In the preseason you have unlimited trades. You can buy and sell players as many times as you want in order to build that winning roster.
During the regular season, each time you sell a player from your roster, a trade is deducted from your team. Buying a player to fill an open spot does not count as a trade. If you do not use all of your trades during a week, the remaining trades will carry over into the next week.
How many trades do I start the regular season with?
Please note: In the 'SCS Original' game you must have a full roster. 25 Points will be deducted from your team every day for each open roster spot.
When do I get new trades?
When can I make trades?
- Football
- The weekly trade window opens each Tuesday at 8am EST.
- You can buy or sell any player between 8am EST on Tuesday until the start of their game that week.
- Once a player's game starts, you can't buy or sell them for the rest of that week.
- The weekly trade window closes Monday night at 10pm EST.
- Baseball, Basketball, Hockey
- The daily trade window opens each day at 7am EST.
- You can buy or sell any player between 7am EST and the start of their game.
- Once a player's game starts, you can't buy or sell them.
- The daily trade window closes each night at 10pm EST.
How do I trade players?
To sell a player, go to the Roster page of your team and click on the price next to the player.
To buy a player, go to the Players page and click on the price next to the player.
It is possible to complete a Buy/Sell in one step. In the Players page, search for a player to buy and click on their price. If your roster already has a player at the position you are buying, the next page will ask you which player from your roster you would like to sell. Choose the player you'd like to sell and confirm the transaction.
Can I buy more trades?
No, not in 'SCS Original'. Every team is provided new trades at the alloted time. If you run out of trades then you need to wait for more trades to be provided.
Can I undo a trade?
Yes! Trades can be undone on the day (week for football) the trade was made and only if the player's game has not started. Go to the Trade History page to see a list of trades you've made and click the Undo trade button to undo the trade.
In addition, during the all-star break, you can undo trades made at any time during the break until 10:00pm EST of the last break day. For example, if the NBA all-star break starts on Friday and there are no games until the next Thursday, trade undo's are allowed from Friday until Wednesday night at 10pm EST.
How come I can't always click on the price of a player to buy or sell?
Here are the reasons why this could happen:
- You have not selected a team from the Home page. Make sure you select a team before trying to buy players for the team.
- The player's game is in progress or already completed for that day/week.
- For football, trading is disabled between Monday 10pm and Tuesday 8am EST. For all other sports, trading is disabled daily between 10pm and 7am EST.
Player Pricing
What makes players' prices change?
The Salary Cap Sports Player Price Market is a feature whereby players' prices go up and down based on total trade activity, similar to the stock market. If a player is bought much more than he is sold then his price goes up. If a player is sold more than he is bought then his price drops. The key to increasing your Franchise Value is to anticipate the demand for specific players, and buy them before their price goes up. In addition, your knowledge of which players on your roster are slumping, injured, or have a poor upcoming schedule, can allow you to sell a player before his price plummets.
A second, smaller component of player price movement, is ownership percentage. Players that are on a large percentage of active rosters will experience a slight price increase based on this ownership. Conversely, players with very low ownership will experience a price drop.
When do price updates happen?
- Football: Price changes will be calculated every Tuesday at 3:00am EST starting after week 2 of the NFL season.
- Baseball, basketball, and hockey: Price changes will be calculated every day at 3:00am EST starting after day 2 of the season.
When are new players made available (IPO's)?
New players will be added to SCS when it becomes apparent they are going to play in their first game. They will be added to the game at a time that makes it fair for everyone, i.e. early in the morning, while trading is still frozen. All IPO's will be announced on your Home page.