First Pitch Arizona 2024 - 2023 program (for ref)

2024 program schedule will be announced closer to the event. In the meantime, check out our 2023 program below to get a sense of the weekend:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023

2:30 PM: FPAZ23 Check-in at Hotel Lobby
Pick up your registration packet, which includes AFL game ticketing info, weekend program and all the information you'll need for a successful weekend. The table will be staffed until 5:00 pm.

3:00 PM: XFL Draft
The industry's longest-running experts keeper league auction takes place at First Pitch Arizona, with many participants whom you will recognize. Observe how these veterans tackle keeper league dynamics in 2024.

4:00-4:45 PM: Thursday afternoon breakouts
Get stretched out with option to chose from two pre-reception breakout sessions.

The Art of the FAAB Bid (Rob McCabe)
Holds On! Targeting Tips for this Tricky Category (Mike Carter, Fantrax; Rick Graham, PitcherList)

5:30 PM: Welcome Reception at Scottsdale Stadium
Our annual informal ice-breaker meets an hour before gametime at one of the gathering spots at Scottsdale Stadium, just a 12-min drive from the hotel. Rub shoulders with presenters and attendees over provided ballpark fare and a cash bar. For our first timers, this is a chance to get a quick "lay of the land" of the weekend experience to come in our First Timers' Meetup as you'll get to know FPAZ veterans and speakers who will answer all your questions. For veterans, the perfect place to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones via that legendary First Pitch comaraderie! Then grab a seat (if you wish) and take in the weekend's first ballgame, Salt River at Scottsdale, starting at 6:30.
Salt River at Scottsdale (6:30 pm)

9:45 PM: Thursday Post-Game Hangouts
The day's ballgames are over, but the night is young! Optional meetups and sessions back at the hotel include:

The Podcast Room: Several popular fantasy baseball podcasts will be doing epidodes from First Pitch Arizona, live from the Podcast Room. And you can be a part. Each will include interactive segments with attendees, special guests, and of course, plenty of baseball chatter. Catch one or catch 'em all! Thursday schedule:
- 9:45-11pm: On the Corner
9:45-10:45 pm Breakout sessions
- Prospect Q&A Hour: A full 60 minutes to fire your prospect questions at Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs) and Chris Blessing (BaseballHQ)
- Takeaways from the 2023 NFBC: Moderator Vlad Sedler (FTN Fantasy) is joined by Toby Guevin (Batflip Crazy), Dave Potts (RotoGrinders) and Justin Mason (FanGraphs) to talk high stakes, Main Event and Auction Championship.
Or, just enjoy good baseball (or other) talk over cold beverages of your choice at the indoor/outdoor hotel meeting places

REMINDER: this is the schedule from 2023; the First Pitch Arizona 2024 program schedule will be announced closer to the event!

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

8:00 AM: Welcome and Announcements
Brent Hershey & Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ)

8:15 AM: Opening presentation
Ron Shandler (Baseball Forecaster)

8:45 AM: Arizona Fall League Scouting Report
Find out about the players you need to watch at the parks this weekend, with insightful multimedia scouting reports. Identify the most upwardly-mobile AFL prospects in this entertaining, rapid-fire panel session to kick things off.
PANELISTS: Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs); TBA
MODERATOR: TBA

10:10 AM: The Effects of the 2023 Rules Changes
An in-depth look at how the increases of SB, the implementation of the pitch clock, and the overshift ban changed the game in 2023 — plus what adjustments we all must make to be successful in 2024.
PANELISTS: Jason Collette (RotoWire); Andy Andres (BaseballHQ); Derek Carty (RotoGrinders)
MODERATOR: Todd Zola (Mastersball)

11:30 AM: Lunch provided
Grab a provided boxed lunch and at noon, settle in for a conversation between Patrick Davitt and Ron Shandler about Ron's career and new book, Fantasy Expert.

12:30-1:45 PM: Podcast Room: Beat the Shift

12:45-1:30: Fantasy Expert book signing
A First Pitch Arizona exclusive: Pre-release paperback copies of Fantasy Expert will be available for purchase throughout the weekend; Ron will also be available to sign copies.

12:45-1:45 PM: The Bullpen Hour
There's never a shortage of discussion when bullpens are the topics. Recent MLB trends, team-level solutions, what kind of draft capital we should spend on these necessary assets, FAAB strategy ... and your questions!
PANELISTS: Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ) and Greg Jewett (Reliever Recon)

2:30 PM: AFL afternoon ballgame
Mesa at Peoria

3pm: Ballpark Q&As: Specialists in several topics will be set up in different seating sections of Peoria Stadium to field questions or just chat informally throughout the game. Possible subjects include Scoresheet baseball, Strat-o-Matic baseball, DFS, and more.

6:30 PM: AFL Ballgame
Scottsdale at Glendale (attendee game)
Salt River at Surprise

9:15 PM: Friday Post-Game Hangouts
The day's ballgames are over, but the night is young! Optional meetups and informal activities back at the hotel include:

The Podcast Room: Several popular fantasy baseball podcasts will be doing epidodes from First Pitch Arizona, live from the Podcast Room. And you can be a part. Each will include interactive segments with attendees, special guests, and of course, plenty of baseball chatter. Catch one or catch 'em all! Friday evening schedule:
- 9:15-10:30pm: FTN Fantasy Baseball Podcast
  10:45-midnight: Bubba and the Bloom
9:30-11:00 pm Breakout sessions
- Session 1 (9:30-10:15)
  - XFL at 21: A Case Study on Keeper/Dynasty League Sustainability (Ron Shandler, Peter Kreutzer, Brian Feldman, Brian Walton, Steve Gardner, Tristan Cockcroft)
  - Using Rolling 15-Game Charts to Spot Hitter Trends (Scott Chu)
- Session 2 (10:15-11:00)
  - 2024 FPAZ Rookie Draft — What rookies are ready to produce in 2024? Our 8-member panel discusses a league they drafted and will play out in 2024. (Chris Blessing, Eric Cross, Chris Welsh, Rob Gordon, Chris Clegg, Shelly Verougstraete, Matt Thompson and Sara Sanchez)
  - Five Fresh Ways to Look at Playing Time — (Ed DeCaria)
Or, just enjoy good baseball (or other) talk over cold beverages of your choice at the indoor/outdoor hotel meeting places

REMINDER: this is the schedule from 2023; the First Pitch Arizona 2024 program schedule will be announced closer to the event!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2023

8:10 AM: Player Spotlights
Always lively and entertaining, our expert panel digs deep into surprise player performances of this season and what's likely sustainable—or not—for 2024. These sessions are a runaway hit each year. MODERATOR: Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ)

Panel 1—Pitchers (8:10), PANELISTS: Paul Sporer (FanGraphs), Rob DiPietro (Pull Hitter), Eric Karabell (ESPN), Rudy Gamble (Razzball)
Panel 2—Hitters (9:20), PANELISTS: Jeff Erickson (RotoWire), Vlad Sedler (FTN Fantasy), Jeff Zimmerman (FanGraphs), Derek VanRiper (The Athletic)

10:30 AM: Grading Pitches and Pitchers: Using Stuff+ and PLV for Fantasy Success
Eno Sarris (Stuff+) and Nick Pollack (PLV) demonstrate their grading models on current pitchers as we look back at 2023 and ahead to 2024. MODERATOR: Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ)

11:00 AM-12:15 PM: Podcast Room: CBS Fantasy Baseball Today

11:45 AM: Lunch provided by Underdog Fantasy
At 12:15, a representative from Underdog will preview their 2024 Fantasy Baseball offerings.

12:45 PM: Saturday Breakouts

Underdog Fantasy Baseball
Injury Beat, Q&A for 2024 (Matt Cederholm, BaseballHQ)
Is it time to Change? How (and if) Fantasy Baseball needs to catch up to MLB trends: A Commissoner's View (Tristan Cockcroft, Steve Gardner, Jeff Erickson, Frank Stampfl)

1:15-2:30 PM: Podcast Room: Rates & Barrels

2:00-5:00 PM: FPAZ Drafternoon!
Yes, we hold baseball drafts in November! Our popular, real-league activity gets the jump on 2024, where you can test your mettle at the draft table with some of our speakers. Wanna get in on a 2024 NFBC Draft Champions league? Or a 12-team mixed auction? Best Ball? The options abound, and we play for prizes: first place finishers in each league receive a one-year subscription to BaseballHQ.com! This is one of our most popular activities, and it's another great way to get to know other attendees in the process. Warning: The competition is stiff! (Sign-ups will take place via email announcement beforehand.)

2:45-4:00 PM: Podcast Room: BaseballHQ Radio

5:08 PM MLB World Series Game 7 Watch Party (If necessary)
It will be the final MLB game of the year for all the marbles. Enough said.

6:30 PM: AFL Home Run Derby at Sloan Park
An recent addition to the Arizona Fall League, the second-ever Home Run Derby will take place on Saturday at Sloan Park — right across the street from our host hotel. Watch the league's best mashers slug it out for the title!

9:15 PM: Saturday Evening Hangouts
The ballfield activities are over, but the night is young! Optional meetups:

The Podcast Room: Several popular fantasy baseball podcasts will be doing epidodes from First Pitch Arizona, live from the Podcast Room. And you can be a part. Each will include interactive segments with attendees, special guests, and of course, plenty of baseball chatter. Catch one or catch 'em all! Saturday schedule:
- 9:15-10:30pm: Pallazo Podcast
- 10:45-midnight: The Sleeper and the Bust
9:15-10:30 pm First Pitch Arizona Tools Lab: An exhibition-hall style area where you can get tips on and see features of the many websites and tools that can become the backbone of your fantasy success. Learn the ins and outs of the likes of:
- Working with Excel spreadsheets (Ariel Cohen)
- BaseballHQ.com website/tools (Matt Cederholm)
- Razzball.com website/tools (Rudy Gamble)
- Statistical Benchmarks for Offseason Analysis (Toby Guevin)
- Prospect Jukebox - FanGraphs' prospect/player breakdown tools (Eric Longenhagen)
- More TBA
Or, just enjoy good baseball (or other) talk over cold beverages of your choice at the indoor/outdoor hotel meeting places

REMINDER: this is the schedule from 2023; the First Pitch Arizona 2024 program schedule will be announced closer to the event!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2023

8:30-9:15 AM: Sunday Breakouts

The Secrets of Auction Drafts (Ariel Cohen, FanGraphs)
Session TBA

9:40 AM: Scout Talk
Hearing from our MLB-affiliated panelists (to be announced onsite) is a yearly highlight. Listen to them discuss and answer questions about the Fall League, scouting in general, and perhaps even a player or two. An exclusive FPAZ session that attendees don't want to miss!
MODERATOR: Brian Walton, CardinalNation.com

11:00 AM: 2024 Projections Roundtable: How to account for 2023
Four seasoned projections-makers assemble to give their insights on how the new stats landscape from 2023 should or will affect their projections for 2024. Derek Carty (THE BAT), Rudy Gamble (Razzball), Todd Zola (Mastersball) and Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ) dig into the numbers.

12:00 noon: Final Wrap
Here's your final chance to pick the brains of all of our weekend speakers.

6:00 pm: Fall Stars Game at Sloan Park

REMINDER: this is the schedule from 2023; the First Pitch Arizona 2024 program schedule will be announced closer to the event!