8 ‘Outside Views’ That Build Smarter Dynasty Baseball Teams
Image credit: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Today, dynasty league fantasy baseball players have no shortage of resources available to help them assess prospects’ tools, peak projections and rankings. Numerous sites and social media accounts display Statcast-inspired batted-ball data and pitchers’ Stuff+ scores.
That’s why I take a much broader view with my dynasty strategy ideas. Well, that’s not the only reason. Taking more of an “outside view” is one of the only things that differentiates me in fantasy leagues.
I’m not the best pure evaluator, and I’m certainly no projections wonk. What I do have is perspective, having worked at Baseball America for 25 years.
Here are the “outside views” that I apply most frequently in dynasty leagues.
1. Shortstops adapt
To play shortstop at a high level requires quick, precise, athletic movements. It requires anticipation. It requires the adaptability to make many different types of plays running in all directions, throwing from all angles.
These skills—athleticism, anticipation, adaptability—tend to translate to the batter’s box, if not immediately, then over time. A shortstop may not hit much as a young major leaguer, but often he can adapt.
It doesn’t hurt that a shortstop’s secondary tools—typically some combination of run, field and throw—help keep him on the field to gain batting reps to develop his hitting and power.
Players such as Jeremy Peña, Geraldo Perdomo and Dansby Swanson are examples of shortstops whose offensive production hovered near average—or below—for multiple seasons before the pieces fit. Eventually, the whole was equal to the sum of the parts.
Adaptability applies not only to swing mechanics and hitting approaches. It also applies to defense. A player who can handle shortstop typically throws well enough to play third base and has the range and footwork to play second base. Many shortstops run well enough to play outfield.
For my money, the shortstop provides the most avenues to major league value of any player type.
2. Lefthanders know the routine
From a young age, lefthanded pitchers face lineups with seven, eight or nine righthanded batters. Their stuff has to play against opposite-side hitters, which helps authenticate their performance on their way up the ladder.
For many lefthanders, this steady diet of righthanded hitters helps them adjust to MLB competition more quickly. They are well-practiced at locating changeups to their arm side and four-seamers, cutters and sliders to their glove side.
For those lefties who struggle to retire off-hand hitters, the high-power, low-control ones may quickly find themselves in the bullpen, while the low-power, high-control southpaw often has a long career as a depth starter.
Additionally, there is an observed “novelty” factor for lefthanders, which seems to be confirmed by their MLB success in recent seasons, both among veteran and rookie southpaws.
As a group, major league lefthanders just posted their best results of the 30-team era in 2025. Their 142.2 fWAR, 1.27 WHIP and 14.5 K-BB% are the best marks of the sample, while their 22.8% strikeout rate is the best in a 162-game season.
MLB teams are seeking out, developing and calling up lefthanders for their pitching staffs in record numbers. The last six 162-game seasons have the six highest total of lefthanders used in MLB history.
3. The outfield can be platoon purgatory
I prefer to tread lightly with young lefthanded-hitting outfielders. They face by far the biggest platoon risk in MLB. The outfield is open to virtually all player types—batters of both hands, throwers of both hands, power-oriented players, speed-oriented players and even a few glove-oriented players.
That means that a young lefthanded-hitting outfielder has to be completely well-rounded to play every day. Also, it’s much easier for an MLB team to run a platoon or two in the outfield than it is at other positions. This puts lefthanded hitters at elevated playing-time risk.
Unless they hit like Roman Anthony or field like Pete Crow-Armstrong, a young lefthanded-hitting outfielder risks falling into platoon purgatory.
4. Righthanded throwers offer true versatility
MLB teams are becoming increasingly obsessed with versatility. It allows them to move players around the diamond to field their best lineups, while also affording rest days for regulars.
As a result, lefthanded-throwing position players are on the wane. They can play only outfield or first base, and increasingly they are only playing outfield. A lot of first basemen are migrating to the position from other infield spots, e.g. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Michael Busch or Bryce Harper, who began as a catcher. By definition, that makes them righthanded throwers.
The lefthanded-throwing position player today has a tougher time securing a bench role, because extra roster spots tend to go to the most versatile players.
And true positional versatility can only be achieved by a righthanded thrower, which has led to a rise in the infield/outfield utility player, as typified by Brendan Donovan, Mauricio Dubon and Zach McKinstry. Or Tommy Edman, Enrique Hernandez and Jeff McNeil.
5. Pitchers and catchers peak later
Seek opportunistic additions or trades for pitchers or catchers in their mid 20s, especially if they have demonstrated they can handle the physical and mental grind of a full MLB season.
It’s not unusual for MLB pitchers and catchers to struggle for their first few seasons as they acclimate to the heavy burden of preparing for and executing a game plan against MLB hitters.
Evaluating young baseball players is a tricky business. The physical, mental and emotional roadblocks to development are myriad, especially for pitchers and catchers.
6. Mind the margins
Hitting for average and for impact are the most important attributes for an MLB position player. But the reality is that the vast majority of potential MLB hitters are separated by thin margins when it comes to their hit tool and power. Most will fall in the general vicinity of a 50 grade; some a half-tick below and some a half-tick above.
That’s why it can be beneficial to find players who have advantages on the margins, such as fielding prowess, speed, athleticism or positive reviews for makeup and work ethic. Those minor separators can make a major difference for a player working his way into the regular lineup.
7. Teams’ history with teenagers
Throughout baseball history, MLB teams have demonstrated repeatedly that they are skilled at identifying future major league hitters when they are teenagers.
These players may change positions between the time they are 17 and the time they are 25, but many of the top high school and international prospects achieve MLB stardom.
With the notable exception of Aaron Judge, the best hitters of the 2020s signed as teenagers. Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez, Freddie Freeman, Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr. Bryce Harper, Corey Seager and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. occupy eight of the top 10 spots for wRC+ since 2020. The ninth non-Judge entry is Shohei Ohtani, who was drafted and signed as a teenager in Japan.
The same trend does not exist for pitchers. MLB teams have whiffed repeatedly when making big outlays on teenage pitchers.
Most of the lowest FIPs by starting pitchers in the 2020s are from college draftees, such as Paul Skenes, Jacob deGrom, Garrett Crochet, Chris Sale, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber and Tarik Skubal. However, a slew of pitchers signed as teenagers—most notably Logan Webb, Zack Wheeler, Cole Ragans, Cristopher Sanchez and Max Fried—have begun to cut into the advantage.
While teen pitchers may one day realize MLB stardom, the road is long and treacherous. From the list above, Webb, Wheeler, Ragans and Fried all had Tommy John surgery as prospects or young major leaguers.
In dynasty leagues, I prefer not to wait five or more seasons for a young pitcher to mature and build workload, all while hoping he avoids major injury. Most dynasty leagues simply don’t have as many roster spots at their disposal as an MLB team has with its minor league affiliates.
8. When teams speak, listen
MLB teams naturally have an information advantage on the public.
That’s why simply siding with the prospect who is promoted aggressively at a young age or the MLB veteran who secures a guaranteed contract can be the wise play.
After the 2024 season, the Red Sox signed Aroldis Chapman and the Orioles signed Ramon Laureano to what could be viewed as head-scratching one-year contracts. In these cases, the teams were right.
Chapman had a dominating season as Boston’s closer, while Laureano performed well enough to be traded to the Padres, who then picked up his club option for 2026.
