With no action to begin the week, it’s always fun to find out how the Touts handle the down time.
What are your plans for the All Star break?
Frank Stampfl (SportsGrid, RotoExperts, @Roto_Frank): Nothing crazy on my end. The grind rolls on. Fantasy Baseball Today is putting out a podcast Monday – Friday next week with some fun topics including Early FYPD rankings, second half impact prospects for the second half, early 2024 mock draft and more. Ariel Cohen texted me today to try pickleball so maybe I’ll give that a whirl.
Scott Swanay (FantasyBaseballSherpa, @fantasy_sherpa): Hopefully spend some time assessing my rosters’ needs, reviewing other teams’ rosters, and coming up with some trade ideas that would be mutually beneficial (at least from my point of view!).
Seth Trachtman (SethRoto.com, Yardbarker, @sethroto): This is a good time to recharge and reassess. Take some time away from thinking about fantasy baseball (since it can be a grind), but also assess team needs as we come up on fantasy baseball trade deadlines. Without games and news to worry about, it leaves some time to make a plan for the stretch run.
Rick Graham (Pitcher List, @IAmRickGraham): Looking forward to following the MLB draft and then the Derby on Monday. Other than that, this is usually the best time to start planning out what your plan will be leading up to your leagues trade deadline.
Jeff Erickson (Rotowire, @Jeff_Erickson): Annual RotoWire trip to Las Vegas for the All-Star break, and then I’ll spend time furtively searching for my next FAAB reclaim before Thursday’s deadline.
Ariel Cohen (CBS Sports, @ATCNY): Fantasy baseball wise – I’ll be doing a deep dive on all of my teams. For the roto leagues, I’ll be looking at which categories are worth more for my team to be competitive in, and which are relatively less. Remember – its about marginal points up OR down, its not just about potential gains. If losing 5 SBs would cost me 5 standings points – I need to fortify that category, etc. I’ll also take a closer look at trade opportunities with each league. So less player analysis during the break … and more TEAM analysis. Outside baseball … as per Frank Stampfl above – I’ll be playing some pickleball too.
“Tristan H. Cockcroft (ESPN, @SultanofStat): Doing the annual news search for second-half rotations to get the Forecaster in order, only to inevitably see 30%-plus of them change after lineups lock with the first game of the second half. I don’t think there’s a much less fun scoring period to plan for during the fantasy baseball season than the three days that immediately follow the break. Worry not, I’ll sneak in some relaxation time around it, it’s far from stress!
”Phil Hertz (Baseball HQ, @prhz50): Aside from perhaps a little of the HR Derby (Pete Alonso fan), I intend to have nothing to do with baseball until Wednesday evening when a couple of my leagues have Free Agent bidding. I intend to do more non-baseball reading – I was just thinking about how little non-baseball reading I’ve done since Opening Day. Indeed, Sunday’s NYTimes is still sitting on the kitchen counter unread. Maybe I’ll have more success with the paper this Sunday!
“John Laghezza (The Athletic, @JohnLaghezza): As much as I love the pomp and the fanfare of MLB’s All-Star festivities, I can’t wait to grab my family and go anywhere with no baseball for 3 days. I know that come Friday it’s back to work in the highest leverage spots down the stretch for 3 months straight. Like they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
”Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): Hmm, I had Tristan tabbed for stalking Anthony Volpe for the chicken parm recipe.
Andy Behrens (Yahoo Fantasy Sports, @andybehrens): Well, my primary objective during the break was to acquire a few stolen bases in Tout, but then I worked out an Esteury Ruiz deal (immediately before his injury) on Wednesday, so that frees up some time. I think I’ll finally get around to figuring out this year’s Scott Fish Bowl rules.
AJ Mass (ESPN, @AJMass): It’s a break for MLB. It’s a break for me. Spending time with my wife and son traveling before he heads off to college in the fall.
Fred Zinkie (Yahoo/Rotowire, @FredZinkieMLB): Fantasy football draft prep! Looking forward to it. I enjoy having the SFB13 drafts starting during the MLB ASB this year. Great timing.
Rob Leibowitz (Rotoheaven, @rob_leibowitz): I’m sure I’ll keep busy with baseball in an OOTP/Strat-o-Matic sort of way plus try to catch the futures game which is my favorite thing of the All-Star break.
Vlad Sedler (FTN Fantasy, @rotogut): My annual mid-season deep dive of all my fantasy baseball teams to see what categories I can address and attack for the final couple months.
Chris Blessing (BaseballHQ, @C_Blessing): I had hoped to be in Seattle for the Futures Game, Home Run Derby and the Draft. Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow for it this year. Instead, I’ll be focusing my attention on making sure BHQ Minors Draft Coverage and the Midseason HQ50 prospect list is ready to go for the dates during the All-Star break they are scheduled to publish.
Tristan H. Cockcroft (ESPN, @SultanofStat): Who says Volpe didn’t just steal my recipe? It’s pretty darned good chicken parm, I’m told.
Mike Podhorzer (Fangraphs, @MikePodhorzer): Finally a chance to relax for a couple of days, far away from the stress of watching your closer blow your starter’s win or your hitter’s home run get caught as the opposing outfielder leaps above the wall to make a spectacular catch.
Frank Ammirante (The GameDayHQ, @FAmmiranteTFJ): My plans for the All-Star Break involve watching Luis Robert win the Home Run Derby.
Greg Jewett (The Athletic, @gjewett9): Reflect on what worked, and what did not in the first half. Check the standings in each league while mapping out where points can be gained, then target them moving forward. Last, read as much as possible about the trade deadline, especially regarding relievers (my niche) with eyes on the second half.
Todd Zola (Mastersball, @toddzola): I’ll head to Cape Cod from Sunday through Tuesday, catching some Cape Cod League ball. It’s baseball at its purest. Then I’ll have Wednesday and Thursday to reacquaint with my spreadsheets, and reject the goofy trade proposals that came in while I was pretending I didn’t have email access.
Justin Mason (Friends With Fantasy Benefits, @JustinMasonFWFB): I use it as a chance to recharge from my normal baseball centric routine. I don’t write or podcast during the week. However, I do use it as a chance to take a deep dive into my roto league standings and start to develop a plan for the second half. Look for where I can gain and lose ground in each of my leagues so I can shore up any weaknesses and build on strengths.
Alex Chamberlain (FanGraphs, @DolphHauldhagen): I’ll both investigate the trade offers I’ve received but neglected for weeks and ponder and prepare new offers while assessing the viability of my contending and non-contending teams in keeper/dynasty formats.
Scott Pianowski (Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, @Scott_Pianowski): I’m going to play some golf, walk my puppy, drive aimlessly while listening to REM, Pretenders, and The Replacements, and silently curse not having more shares of Elly De La Cruz.
Scott Chu (Pitcher List, @ifthechufits): I like to take few days where I don’t think about fantasy baseball. It’s a really nice break. And then I’ll be diving in even harder than before. We all need breaks, folks.
Anthony Perri (Fantistics, @Anthony_Perri): Compute and publish our 2nd half projections. Then head to the beach in Northern Mexico, and relax a bit. If I’m lucky I’ll get to see a Mexican League home run challenge at Francisco León García Stadium in Puerto Penasco. Last time I was there, the derby champ won with 4 HRs in the final round!
Matt Trussell (Razzball, @MattTruss): ASB is a chance to stop the grind of the daily roto leagues and take a look at where I can make moves in the standings in the second half and maybe brew up some trade offers. Without the daily research to do I can take a more long term look at things, see where I’m up and where I’m lagging and formulate a plan to win my leagues.
Patrick Davitt (BaseballHQ, @patrickdavitt): I’ll be doing an ASB special edition roundtable pod with my wife Lysè and taking Ray Murphy and ToddZ out to dinner and a show. Wait … I got that backward.
Glenn Colton (SiriusXM, @GlennColton1): Well, if I am being honest, the answer is focus on fantasy football and the upcoming FSGA champions league draft as Rick Wolf, Stacie Stern and I try to defend our title.
Dave Adler (BaseballHQ, @daveadler01): I was looking forward to the Future’s Game, but I don’t get Peacock, so I guess that’s out. All Star game? Meh. Maybe a few minutes of it. Will probably read some books in the evenings to make up for lack of baseball!
Brian Walton (CreativeSports2, @B_Walton): I will focus on the players selected in the draft as it relates to the organization I follow. As far as Fantasy is concerned, a review of the post-Memorial Day moves made by me and league competitors to assess how they are doing. Also it is the last time a full dollar FAAB reclaim can be made in both Tout Wars and LABR. A second-half FAAB spending strategy will be developed.
Sara Sanchez (bleedcubbieblue.com, @BCB_Sara): I’m going to look at my teams and do some midseason assessments, see where I can make adjustments and put together some trade offers where I can. I’m also going to sit by the pool, get some yoga and steps in and finish up a piece I’m working on with some new datasets I haven’t had access to before.
Jeff Barton (Scoresheet Baseball, @JeffScoresheet): For the Scoresheet keeper leagues I am in it is time for the annual “am I still trying to compete this year, or is it time to punt and trade with next year in mind, giving up older players for younger”. For my tout team it is sadly time to try and decide what I did wrong, as my team is abysmal this year. And I do not want to make the same mistakes next year. As far as non baseball stuff, it is time to enjoy summer – fishing/boating/camping.
Michael A. Stein (Fantasy Judgment, @FantasyJudgment): I am going to continue trying to potty-train my almost 3-year old daughter who needs to be out of diapers completely by the time pre-school starts in September. I will also be pondering what terrible moves Billy Eppler will make before the trade deadline as the Mets fight to stay in contention.
Sky Dombroske (Fantistics Insider Baseball, @SkyDombroske): I’m going to take the first two days and go through all of my teams from top to bottom…..it can get pretty reactive week to week. Simple things like finding appropriate trade partners can fall by the wayside for a few weeks when you’re scrambling constantly. The next three days I’m actually going to not pay attention to baseball and get ready for our family trip to Denver on the weekend.
Ryan Hallam (Fighting Chance Fantasy, @FightingChance): As someone who does daily projections for several sports, the MLB ASB is one of the only days of the year with no games anywhere, so definitely a little break time. But also looking forward to a few days to go through teams to look to where I can improve and throw out a few trades along the way
Joe Sheehan (Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, @joe_sheehan): A pool, a stack of books, and some good meals. If I even think about baseball from around 2 pm Monday to 2 pm Friday, I’ve screwed up.
Larry Schechter (Winning Fantasy Baseball, @LarrySchechter): I was hoping to be invited to participate in the Home Run Derby, but since that didn’t happen, I guess I’ll start my fantasy football draft prep.
Eric Samulski (Rotoballer, @SamskiNYC): Even though I should be continuously checking my performance in categories, I’ll do a deep dive over the break and see where I can most easily gain points, where I should punt, etc. I’ll also try to finish reading another book since having a small child has made it hard to read. Also, the new seasons of The Witcher, Jack Ryan, The Bear, and Warrior just dropped, so I’ll likely just watch those instead of reading (sigh).
Michael Govier (FTN Fantasy, @mjgovier): Full decompression. The only thing fantasy baseball related I will do will be to master the schedule for my H2H playoff weeks and prepare to acquire players who will have the best matchups during my playoff weeks. Otherwise. it’s time to enjoy life! I love competing in Tout, but taking time to appreciate existence is a must.
Andy Andres (BaseballHQ, @sabermetrics101): Lake Champlain vacation with extended family (24 of us!), getting back on the Heady Topper wagon (still my favorite beverage), boating, swimming, golf, hiking, paddleboarding — very little screen time, so very little work on my day job and fantasy, which is nice.