Park factors are a critical component of daily and season-long fantasy baseball projections. Furthermore, as teams renovate stadiums or move into new ballparks, the landscape for park factors changes. The MLB park factors page has the three-year averages for runs, homers, singles, doubles and triples for every ballpark, using 1.000 to represent a neutral park factor.
However, a few ballparks had dimension changes before last season. As a result, it’s prudent to review their one-year park factors via Baseball Savant. Their park factors are scaled to 100, with that representing a neutral figure. Thus, I’ve scaled our park factors to 100 in the upcoming tables that review the three ballparks that had renovations before the 2023 season. Finally, this piece will highlight the venues at both ends of the scoring and home run spectrums.
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2024 MLB Park Factors Overview
Let’s dive into the various park factors across Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2024 that will impact fantasy baseball.
Ballpark Renovation Review for 2023
Citi Field (Mets)
The Mets moved the right-field wall in at Citi Field last year. The change had a notable impact on runs and a massive effect on homers. It's still a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Yet, Citi Field also boosts homers. It was only a one-year sample. So, gamers should keep tabs on the park factors during the 2024 season at Baseball Savant to see if the changes stick this season.
Comerica Park (Tigers)
Comerica Park had a facelift last year to make it a less pitcher-friendly park. Scoring dipped slightly, but homers increased. Nevertheless, Comerica Park is an ideal venue for pitchers, making it a sweet place to stream. The home-field advantage will also be outstanding for blossoming ace Tarik Skubal.
Rogers Centre (Blue Jays)
The Blue Jays made multiple changes to the dimensions and height of the walls in the outfield at Rogers Centre before last season that were expected to increase offense and homers. Instead, there was less scoring and fewer homers in Toronto. Perhaps last year will prove to be a fluke. Fantasy gamers should pay close attention to how Rogers Centre plays in 2024 and adjust accordingly. Furthermore, another round of renovations will eliminate some foul territory this season, possibly turning a few balls that would have turned into outs in foul territory in previous seasons into harmless foul balls this year.
Run-Amplifying Parks (5% or Greater Increase in Run Scoring)
The usual suspects are still the highest-scoring venues in MLB. Namely, Coors Field is the gold standard for scoring, followed by Fenway Park and Great American Ball Park (GABP). Kauffman Stadium also isn't a stranger among the best offensive venues and is the only other park that enhances runs by over 10%.
Globe Life Field is the only other venue that increases scoring by at least 5%. It's a new addition to MLB's most-favorable hitting environments. Angel Stadium (Angels), Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox) and Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Orioles) were in this section last year but have slipped.
Run-Suppressing Parks (5% or Greater Reduction in Run Scoring)
Citi Field was already discussed, and gamers should weigh last year's park factors more heavily than the three-year average because of the ballpark renovations before the 2023 season. PETCO Park, T-Mobile Park, and Tropicana Field are left as the only three parks that reduce runs by greater than 10% after Citi Field's exclusion from the quartet. The other venues are also pitcher-friendly, albeit not to as extreme of an extent.
Homer-Amplifying Parks (10% or Greater Increase for Homers)
Great American Ball Park is in a class of its own for boosting bombs, earning it the nickname "Great American Small Park". Predictably, Coors Field is also on the table. However, Dodger Stadium is a textbook example of a run-suppressing ballpark not necessarily also serving as a homer-depressing venue. Instead, it's one of only three places in MLB that increases dingers by over 20%. Finally, Globe Life Field, like Great American Ball Park and Coors Field, is a hitter's dream since it enhances runs by over 5% and homers by greater than 10%.
Homer-Suppressing Parks (10% or Greater Reduction for Homers)
The humidor has turned what was once a homer haven in Arizona into MLB's most challenging park to mash a tater in. Chase Field plays slightly pitcher-friendly and is a nightmare to reach the seats in. The Oakland Coliseum, Oracle Park, Tropicana Field and Busch Stadium (once again ignoring Citi Field because of its renovations before the 2023 season) are among the most difficult parks to score runs and homer in, appearing in the pitcher-friendly parks section, and here. Finally, Kauffman Stadium is a unique venue, bumping runs at one of the highest rates while snuffing out homers at one of the highest rates, too.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
