Baseball has the deepest rosters of any of the major fantasy sports leagues. With nine batting positions (including the designated hitter), utility spots and both starting and relief pitching slots, fantasy baseball rosters are deep enough that you'll need to pay attention to depth charts more closely than you would in football, basketball or hockey. You'll need both use them as part of your fantasy baseball draft assistant on draft day and along with other RotoWire tools as the season plays out.
Depth charts are part of the fantasy baseball draft kit and can help managers track playing time, platoons and expected pitching rotations. It's critical to keep a close eye on depth chart movement when considering waiver wire pick-ups, injury replacements and trades. A lot can change over a 162-game season and managers need to be ready at all times.
Playing Time is King
League settings differ, but traditional fantasy baseball features seven counting MLB player stats (home runs, RBIs, runs and stolen bases for hitters; strikeouts, saves and wins for pitchers) and three average stats (batting average or on-base percentage for batters; ERA and WHIP for pitchers). With seven volume-based stats in play, it's important that fantasy baseball managers analyze their fantasy baseball rankings based on which players are going to play the most. Plate appearances starts, and relief appearances are the most important part of analyzing a player's outlook.
You'll need to make sure you aren't sacrificing one of the average stats in a given week for
Baseball has the deepest rosters of any of the major fantasy sports leagues. With nine batting positions (including the designated hitter), utility spots and both starting and relief pitching slots, fantasy baseball rosters are deep enough that you'll need to pay attention to depth charts more closely than you would in football, basketball or hockey. You'll need both use them as part of your fantasy baseball draft assistant on draft day and along with other RotoWire tools as the season plays out.
Depth charts are part of the fantasy baseball draft kit and can help managers track playing time, platoons and expected pitching rotations. It's critical to keep a close eye on depth chart movement when considering waiver wire pick-ups, injury replacements and trades. A lot can change over a 162-game season and managers need to be ready at all times.
Playing Time is King
League settings differ, but traditional fantasy baseball features seven counting MLB player stats (home runs, RBIs, runs and stolen bases for hitters; strikeouts, saves and wins for pitchers) and three average stats (batting average or on-base percentage for batters; ERA and WHIP for pitchers). With seven volume-based stats in play, it's important that fantasy baseball managers analyze their fantasy baseball rankings based on which players are going to play the most. Plate appearances starts, and relief appearances are the most important part of analyzing a player's outlook.
You'll need to make sure you aren't sacrificing one of the average stats in a given week for the sake of more volume, but in general you want players who are seeing the field most often. In RotoWire's 2026 batter rankings, you need to scroll down to No. 179 and Lourdes Gurriel to find a player projected to play fewer than 110 games. He currently has a fantasy baseball ADP higher than 400 as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in September.
Identifying Platoon Splits and Utility Men
Analytics have changed how MLB teams manage their lineups, and platoons are more common than ever. Certain teams will rotate players in and out depending on the pitching matchup of the day, and managers can check MLB player stats to see these splits. Platoons can create valuable fantasy assets that can be had for cheap, especially in daily leagues where pick-ups can be made cheaply.
Pavin Smith was a great example for the Diamondbacks last season. He had just 18 plate appearances against left-handed pitching (.542 OPS), but raked against righties with eight homers and an .817 OPS before much of his second half was lost to injury. Picking and choosing spots on when to deploy Smith paid off for managers. Using MLB projections each day can also help make decisions on who to add or who to put into your starting lineup.
The "Next Man Up" Philosophy
Injuries are going to happen over the course of a 162-game season. That means having an understanding of who's behind your stars is important in case your players with high fantasy baseball auction values miss time. It's not as simple of a swap as it is in fantasy football, but deeper leagues mean waiver wires offer slim pickings. You may not need to use a roster spot on a back-up, but it's good to know exactly who you'll be targeting if you're forced to go to the wire.
This also works in long-term formats. In keeper and dynasty leagues, managers can use fantasy baseball dynasty rankings to look at what players stand to gain more playing time in the future. The same goes for players in the MLB prospect rankings who are next in line to get the call to the Majors. Always have a firm understanding of team's depth charts both in the short term and the future.
Reliable Sources for Real-Time Depth Charts
Depth charts aren't static. With 40-man rosters, MLB call-ups, and of course injuries, teams are always changing their depth charts depending on who's available and what's happened during the season to date.
That's why it's important that fantasy baseball managers are always checking depth charts using tools such as RotoWire, FanGraphs and RosterResource to take a pulse on what teams' depth charts look like. It can pay off in the long run even if you have a healthy, competitive roster.
