Not all fantasy baseball seasons go the way we had hoped. But in dynasty baseball leagues, hope isn't lost. Managers have the chance to rebuild on the fly and to set themselves up for better success in future seasons.
It differs from re-draft leagues, where a lost season finishes up and you try again with a brand new roster the following season. When done correctly and with intent, managers can make a quick turnaround and find themselves back in contention in no time with the help of RotoWire's fantasy experts.
What a Dynasty Rebuild Entails in Fantasy Baseball
A rebuild in dynasty fantasy baseball means forgoing your chances of winning in the short term to have better chance at success in the future. It usually means retooling the majority of your uncompetitive roster while finding ways to grab players who are a year or two away from making an impact in the MLB.
It can be pretty clear when it's time to rebuild your dynasty baseball team. If you have missed on a handful of key players, injuries have crushed your hopes of competing in the present, or your team's MLB player stats have you at the bottom of the standings, it's time to shake things up beyond a trade or two. Once you're ready for a rebuild, RotoWire's fantasy experts and tools help you figure out how to proceed.
Above all else, remember that a dynasty rebuild is going to take time.
"A dynasty rebuild requires extreme patience, and
Not all fantasy baseball seasons go the way we had hoped. But in dynasty baseball leagues, hope isn't lost. Managers have the chance to rebuild on the fly and to set themselves up for better success in future seasons.
It differs from re-draft leagues, where a lost season finishes up and you try again with a brand new roster the following season. When done correctly and with intent, managers can make a quick turnaround and find themselves back in contention in no time with the help of RotoWire's fantasy experts.
What a Dynasty Rebuild Entails in Fantasy Baseball
A rebuild in dynasty fantasy baseball means forgoing your chances of winning in the short term to have better chance at success in the future. It usually means retooling the majority of your uncompetitive roster while finding ways to grab players who are a year or two away from making an impact in the MLB.
It can be pretty clear when it's time to rebuild your dynasty baseball team. If you have missed on a handful of key players, injuries have crushed your hopes of competing in the present, or your team's MLB player stats have you at the bottom of the standings, it's time to shake things up beyond a trade or two. Once you're ready for a rebuild, RotoWire's fantasy experts and tools help you figure out how to proceed.
Above all else, remember that a dynasty rebuild is going to take time.
"A dynasty rebuild requires extreme patience, and you need to enjoy the process of talking trades and working the waiver wire," said RotoWire baseball expert James Anderson. "The very best dynasty managers can pull off rebuilds in any league with enough time, but you have to stick to your process and avoid trying to take shortcuts."
Common Reasons Teams Enter a Rebuild Phase
The causes of needing to rebuild vary. Certain teams that "go for it" in the current year, focusing only on that season's fantasy baseball rankings, can find themselves with aging stars and a shallow pool of prospects the following season.
Poor drafting, or prospects that never panned out, can turn a team into a bottom feeder quickly. Teams don't necessarily need to be in last place to consider rebuilds; if you feel like your current roster can't compete for a championship, entering a rebuild phase is the only path forward. You can then turn to RotoWire's many strategy stories for ideas and planning. Just be aware that entering a rebuild is a commitment, so be sure it's what you want to do before making the final call.
"That usually ends up being a sell-off of your best big leaguers in exchange for younger, unproven players," Anderson said. "This should be viewed as a last option, as these kinds of rebuilds require extreme patience and a lot of sharp trades and pickups."
How Dynasty Rebuilds Typically Unfold in Fantasy Baseball
RotoWire experts will tell you that the key to any dynasty rebuild in fantasy baseball is to seek out teams that are competing for a title now. These teams need the best players in the present and may be willing to part with prospects or young players who do them no good in the current season.
Managers of rebuilds should compare the present year's fantasy baseball rankings to fantasy baseball dynasty rankings and find players that have better long-term outlooks than short ones. Those are the players that competing teams will be willing to part with in exchange for any players you have that are competitive now, but may be at the tail-end of their primes.
Key Assets and Resources in a Dynasty Rebuild
Prospects are going to be key to any rebuild. Whether it's acquiring them via trade or through a Minor League draft, managers of rebuilds always need to tuned into MLB prospect rankings in order to know who they should be targeting in their rebuild.
"Dynasty rankings are a tool, and while you shouldn't treat them as gospel, they help you see where veteran players stack up against prospects," Anderson said. "Using draft software to upload the rosters in your league is a good idea for figuring out who the contenders are, and who the rebuilders are, and how far behind the contenders you might be."
It's also good to keep an eye on MLB depth charts to find players who may be an injury away from entering the starting lineup. Those players can be had cheaply and have upside with little risk to acquire. Staying abreast of fantasy baseball news from RotoWire can help with rebuilds if a major trade or free agency move opens up a spot for a player who's yet to be a fantasy contributor.
How Dynasty Managers Approach Long-Term Turnarounds
One common theme to successful rebuilds is being aggressive. Use MLB projections to see which of your currently rostered players are expected to perform well and dangle them as trade bait. Few, if any, players should be off limits in a true rebuild, and acquiring multiple good players for one great one (or multiple serviceable players for one good players) can help with depth, which most rebuilding managers need.
"You have to win your trades and in order to do that, you can't be extremely narrow in your focus on the trade market. The contenders know that you're rebuilding and they know that you want prospects, but you should be open to taking back more than just prospects in order to win trades," Anderson said. "The only way to expedite a rebuild is to win more trades, and that means making more trades. You can eventually pull off a rebuild as a low-volume trader, but it will take twice as long."
Don't be afraid to make a move in a rebuild. If it doesn't pan out, you're right back where you started. RotoWire tools can help you to study prospects and figure out which ones and how many to try to acquire. Rebuilds can feel slow, but there are paths forward for aggressive teams that look ahead to future production. And you just need to subscribe to RotoWire to be prepared.
