Early-season platoon and handedness trends, 2025

“He’s a platoon bat” has long been a derogatory term in fantasy baseball. When platoons were less frequently employed than today, players that started only a fraction of the games were less valued. And it makes sense on a broad level: Why would you roster a player with 420 projected AB when you could instead choose one with 600 AB?

But of course the game has changed, and as many have noted, platoons in MLB are becoming a bigger part of the overall landscape. Teams have bought into the idea that in many circumstances, committing one or two spots in the field to having a separate starter, depending on the handedness of the opposing starting pitcher, gives your team a better chance at scoring runs and winning the game. So platoons...

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