One thing to consider when preparing for your drafts is the changes that are made to stadiums, aka the places that teams call home. Whether a team changes the dimensions of the outfield or foul territory, alters the backdrops of the stadium, or moves to a completely different venue, anything new can impact how a team performs. For instance, before last season, the Cleveland Guardians removed some upper-deck seating in the outfield which helped create a wind tunnel that allowed for the ball to travel further when hit. These small things can have a huge impact on the future, yet they are oftentimes an afterthought. Here are some of the big changes that are coming in 2025.
Ballpark Changes for 2025 Fantasy Baseball
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles announced that they will be altering the left field wall in Camden Yards, much to the delight of fantasy owners everywhere. Ever since the team made the change, the power numbers of right-handed batters have taken a step backward. Now, with the new changes, it would appear otherwise. Next season, the left-field wall by the foul pole will remain at 333 feet, and there will still be a sharp turn from the pole back to the 373-foot mark. However, this is where it gets complicated. From there, the wall will be brought inward anywhere from nine to twenty feet at varying parts along the wall toward the bullpen area. This means that home runs can now be had at a distance of 374 and 376 feet in length, instead of anywhere from 384 feet up to 398 feet. This is a big deal.
The Orioles have had an incredibly pitcher-friendly stadium since their last renovations. The left-field wall was brought back and raised so much that it suppressed right-handed power. Of note on Statcast, 132 home runs were taken away by the park. This means that in most other ballparks, a ball considered a lost home run would have been one elsewhere. Of those 132 missed, 72 of them belonged to the Orioles.
Going forward, this helps the right-handed batters in the Orioles’ lineup, specifically the ones with power. The first to likely benefit is Ryan Mountcastle who lost eleven home runs over the past three seasons. Additionally, Jorge Mateo, Anthony Santander, and Adley Rutschman each lost seven, while Jordan Westburg lost four last season alone. All of those players should get a bump in production going forward, but the one to focus on the most is Ryan Mountcastle. He is a player that can get on base with regularity and has a powerful bat. If you add those eleven home runs to his totals, he likely has at least two 20-home run seasons under his belt, alongside more base hits. He seems like a great buy-low option in that he could be drafted as your corner infielder and progress to becoming your everyday first baseman.
All that being said, with every win, there is a loss, and the Orioles’ pitching takes a hit here. Already scuffling with offseason injuries to Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, Baltimore will be looking for any healthy and able arms to solidify their rotation. Being more susceptible to the long ball won’t help matters for them. Left-handed pitcher Cade Povich finished his rookie season with a 46.7% fly-ball rate and a 10.5% home run-to-fly-ball rate. As a southpaw throwing to right-handed batters, he seems like the first pitcher here whose value gets downgraded. As someone who also struggles with his command, his stock is seemingly trending downward with this news.
Tampa Bay Rays
The most unfortunate news of the offseason was the damage done to Tropicana Field during Hurricane Milton, making it unusable for the 2025 season. As such, the Rays announced that they will be playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Bay, which was formerly the home of the Single-A Tampa Tarpons. Due to some pre-planned offseason renovations, this stadium will be ready for the 2025 season to provide Rays fans with an authentic Major League experience for games. This is also a big deal for many reasons.
Firstly, the Rays will be playing their games outdoors now, which is a major difference. While outdoors, the team will have the elements of nature to contend with, such as winds, the position of the sun, humidity, and possible rain delays and cancellations. This may affect their pitching, as for years, the team has been able to utilize the calmness and unchanging elements of indoor baseball. Here is a look at the overall team stats of their pitchers in 2024 alone, noting the differences between the conditions of their games played.
Of note, there is over a half-run differential between open-roofed and domed performances from 2024 alone. Additionally, the difference in WHIP is greater than 0.10, making this somewhat of a significant change for the Rays. One player who may struggle because of this change is Shane Baz, whose career numbers in a dome show a 2.72 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP, whereas outdoors he has posted a career ERA of 4.03 and a WHIP of 1.24. One other name to consider here is Pete Fairbanks, who suffers from Raynaud’s Syndrome, which is a condition that causes numbness in the extremities during cold weather or stressful times. While this might be a separate issue altogether, it’s worth noting that the low temperatures in both April of 2024 at times were down below 60 degrees, which could cause some early-season problems. On top of that, his ERA over his career sits at 4.63 outdoors while being half of that inside of a dome.
One other reason this move is significant is that the dimensions for their home games will now change for the hitters too. The left field foul pole will now be four feet back to 318 feet, while the center field wall will be four feet further at 408 feet, and the right field foul pole will be eight feet closer to 314 feet. This is important because those dimensions are identical to Yankee Stadium, giving the Rays hitters a short porch in right field. Brandon Lowe has pulled 42.4% of his hits over his career. This looks to benefit him and Josh Lowe who, although he spreads the ball around more than Brandon, should enjoy the new dimensions and see a bounce-back.
Weather will also be a huge factor in projecting how their 2025 season will transpire. First, the humidity in Tampa Bay has already been discussed as an issue to contend with. Major League Baseball has already swapped different games between teams playing against the Rays in order to give the players more favorable conditions with which to play. For instance, the Rays have had games and sets swapped with both the Angels and Twins because Tampa Bay in August can be difficult weather to deal with. As such, with the Rays being exposed to more humid conditions, we could see an uptick in offense from both teams. Humidity allows the ball to travel farther and faster, which is a big reason for the usual offensive increases we see every year in the summer months. Secondly, the rain is a major factor to consider, as it is quite common for small or large showers to overtake the areas in Florida with much or little warning. It’s because of this that we could see multiple rain delays, postponed games, and even doubleheaders, causing various pitchers to have their outings changed or shortened. The weather will be a major thing to monitor for all teams that will play there.
One final reason of note is the lighting within Tropicana Field. There have been instances where either balls get lost in the lights, hit the roof, or compromise a batter’s eye while at the plate. Former Rays’ shortstop Willy Adames talked about this after his departure in a trade, and his performance since then has increased dramatically. Perhaps this helps home and visiting ball players, but this is something we know very little about. Seeing any early-season trends in the right direction might add some clarity.
The Athletics
Known as Oakland no more, the Athletics will take their talents to Sacramento and play their games at Sutter Health Park, formerly the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Leaving behind the Coliseum, the A’s will also say goodbye to the confides that made it one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in Major League baseball. It had the largest foul territory in the league, which is an underrated way of helping pitchers keep runners off of the bases. All that being said, their new stadium looks to be pitcher-friendly as well, despite its location within the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In fact, according to the chart from Baseball America, it might be one of the best for suppressing runs. It’s unclear if these numbers are what they are because the rest of the PCL is hitter-friendly or if it’s because of the park itself.
Looking back at those numbers, the new stadium for the Athletics looks quite similar in production to that of the Coliseum. The dimensions of both ballparks are quite similar, possibly making the transition insignificant in differences. Thus, fantasy owners should not be afraid to either draft pitchers from the A’s or stream visiting pitchers during home games as well, as this should play itself as a pitcher’s ballpark. One additional note, however, is that Sacramento on average is less humid than Oakland. Additionally, they will be installing a natural grass field in the stadium to help alleviate the heat, while also playing many games at night for the same reason. As such, any offensive boost that was present because of the humidors installed in the Oakland Coliseum may not be as relevant in Sacramento. That being said, the variances in the past are minor and the differences in the future are impossible to predict. This is just a nugget to keep in your back pocket.