I just won a fantasy league title; where did everyone go?
Before this former college pitcher builds a Dynasty as a fantasy owner, he's got to think about the league's future health as he prepares for the 2026 season
This is part of a post series that John Allen is writing. He had dynasty owners with clunker (or not) teams send in the details on their leagues and teams. Below, John offers some advice on how to start righting the ship.
One of the most difficult things in dynasty baseball is keeping the league together. Over time it is natural for the gap to grow between the haves and the have nots as each owner’s level of dedication to the game and league wanes.
This winter I took over an orphaned team that finished 16th out of 25 teams. I got a little lucky and swung some key deals to win the league in the final week. By the end of October, 11 of the 25 owners left the league, and we are wondering if there will be a 2026 season for this league.
When I started this pimping of dynasty teams I wasn’t expecting league winners to be in the mix. But more than 10 percent of the teams were league winners, including Arlen.
Arlen took a team that was in the dumps three years ago, and built a league winner with Bobby Witt Jr. being the centerpiece of his team.
In a 12-team head-to-head deep categories league (10 categories each for hitting and pitching), to contend for the title is a little bit of luck with hot streaks at the right time. The twist for this league is, no waiver wire pickups throughout the season and the categories reward counting stats much more than averages (17-3). So you also need to prioritize health, age, and mixing prospects with MLB starters.
As someone who played in college – he is Baseball-Reference.com official – Arlen is rooted in analytics. He uses ATC, OOPSY, Steamer, Z-Score, and Bat X. But also keeps an eye on who’s working out at Driveline (Jo Adell, Matt Carpenter) and Tread (Josh Hader, Cole Ragans, Mitch Keller), as those two have a history of successful growth.
After winning the league, Arlen is wrestling with blowing it up for another challenge or continuing to build on the league’s best roster.
What I’m going to challenge Arlen to do is to fight off the urge to win, and make moves that will keep the league healthy and his enjoyment of it last longer. Some long-term health trims now could keep his team competitive and other owners active. That would be the ultimate win-win.
So, building from that base idea, here are some of my thoughts.
ROSTER DROPS
With a 40-player roster and no pickups, minimizing injury and prioritizing age will be some of the drivers for these cuts.
For hitters, I would drop Paul Goldschmidt, MJ Melendez, Tyler O’Neill, and Adolis Garcia or Jake Burger. If Garcia lands on a team where he has a starting role and it’s a good place for him to hit, then keep him (update: Adolis Garcia lands in a pretty good spot in Philly). If Burger is missing because of injuries in spring training, drop him. Because with Bryce Harper starting at 1B, you need a good backup.
For pitchers, Kutter Crawford’s wrist injury is too big of a question mark to keep him around. Also dropping, Kevin Ginkel, Tyler Holton (I understand the SP/RP appeal, but hoping to find that elsewhere), and Chris Martin (always hurt).
ROSTER ADDS
Adding hitters with a couple of positions is going to be important. If there is value, having three catchers should be a priority, and if one of those catchers has another position (i.e. Dalton Rushing) even better.
Having at least 10 starting pitchers, especially without waiver wire pickups, is going to be important. In a 12-team league, that should account for all of the No. 1-4 starters in the MLB.
Stocking the team with up to eight relievers (especially if you can find one or two who can also be SP) will add some certainty to the bullpen.
Finding 2-4 prospects with potential helium (like you did with Sebastian Walcott and Konnor Griffin last year) will be the focus of the FYPD. Those prospects will either be building blocks for the future or trade chips for the deadline. Check out the 2026 Prospect Preview Podcasts for more ideas on who to draft: https://www.mlbdatawarehouse.com/p/2026-prospect-preview-podcasts
TRADE IDEAS
I’m looking for sell-high opportunities that will again minimize injuries and maybe get your team a little younger for the 2026 season.
Deal a World Series hero
The Dodgers abused Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the World Series, and maybe the entire playoffs. Pitchers generally struggle after a World Series run and I’m guessing Yamamoto is going to be on the IL for at least part of 2026. Now you are not going to give him away, but since you are in a head-to-head league, having pitchers with known home field advantages is going to be huge. If you could flip Yamamoto for George Kirby (plus something else good) or straight-up for Logan Gilbert, that feels like a solid deal.Take advantage of your catcher depth
I am a huge Drake Baldwin fan. I drafted him third overall (before Nick Kuntz) in the one FYPD that he was available last year. So take this with a grain of salt. But Cal Raleigh will never be worth more than this offseason. In the two previous seasons, he has had injuries (thumb and hand) that slowed his bat. It is likely to happen again. Although I know the Braves are not going to give Baldwin the full-time catcher job, he’s going to get DH time, especially with Acuna healthier and back in RF. And that’s actually a better thing for Baldwin, because that will keep his bat fresher. Now, I’m only dealing Raleigh for a younger likely first-rounder for the next 5-6 years. Do you think the owner of Kuntz would swap him for Raleigh and Bryce Harper? If they are in rebuild mode, probably not. But if they were close to winning last year and are weak at catcher, you might have a chance to pull that off.Get out before the end
George Springer and Seiya Suzuki are coming off near-career seasons. Springer will be 37 before the end of next season and Suzuki will be 32. The end of great seasons are getting closer. For Springer, especially after the extended playing in the postseason, I doubt he will exceed those 2025 numbers ever again. With Luis Robert and Ceddanne Rafaela as replacements on the current roster, possibly making a deal for a future CF would make sense. In terms of potential costs, San Diego’s Jackson Merrill is a potential target with likely the highest cost. Until he hit seven HRs in Sept., Merrill was looking like a potential buy low candidate for 2026. He may not be anymore, which leads to the next potential target, Michael Harris II of the Braves. As an owner of Harris since his prospect days, I might want to get off this roller coaster. If the owner in your league feels the same, buying high on the 24-year-old may not be the craziest idea. Next on the target list is Chandler Simpson. Jon Anderson just wrote about Simpson, who can win the stolen bases category each week by himself. But will he continue to be a centerfielder? You could also use a leftfielder, so it’s not the end of the world if he no longer is a CF. You are committing to finding power at all the other positions with this move. And in the buy low category are two young players – Colton Cowser and Brenton Doyle. Cowser broke two ribs on June 12 and had an unusually high strikeout rate and sub-Mendoza level BA the rest of the year. He could bounce back into 25-25 category with health. Doyle also struggled (.233 BA in 2025), but also made himself a known quantity (.306 BA at home in 2025, which followed a .313 home BA in 2024). You know when Doyle will hit, so with daily lineup changes, take advantage of that.Middle is boring, but of core importance
At this point in his career, we know who Alex Bregman is. He is .350 OBP, 20-24 HR, 85 runs, 80 RBI, and a couple of steals. He is Mr. 120 wRC+. And that’s really good. But it’s not great. And at 31+, it’s not likely to get better. Winning in head-to-head categories can be more about hot streaks at the right time than consistent numbers. The roster already has two replacement level 3B in Eugenio Suarez (especially if he gets back to a good hitters’ park for a home) and Carlos Correa. I’d love to replace Bregman, but third base is a difficult position to find a ready-made star in 2026. But your team also needs core pieces that can deliver known results each week. So holding onto Bregman, unless you get a Godfather offer, makes sense this season.Position flexibility is underrated
One of my struggles with trading Springer is he is eligible at all three outfield positions. When you are playing in a LF, CF, RF league, that can be very important. I like having 2B/SS combo players, so while Bryson Stott is not a top performer, having him available for replacement-level performances in a pinch can be season-saving.
So what would you do? Run it back to try for another title? Blow it up for a rebuild? Or this?