As the number of events has increased during All-Star weekend in recent years, so too has the need to provide more analysis to our subscribers. Now that the draft is entering its third year of being hosted amidst the festivities, we’ve decided to bring you coverage of All-Star weekend like never before.
For reasons I can’t comprehend, Craig and Co. thought it’d be a good idea to let me host a watch party of the draft’s first round, with Jarrett as my co-host. We’ll be using a platform called Playback to watch the draft in a Manningcast-style format. Some of you may be familiar with Playback, as Jeffrey and Craig have used it throughout the first half to watch and comment on various games. It’s easy to join: all you have to do is create a Playback account and verify your TV provider. Once that’s complete, you’ll be able to join our Playback watch party and have both the channel & our stream on simultaneously. Jarrett and I will react the same time you react, answer questions posted in the chat, and have occasional guests to break up the action. Need to do a little research on players before the draft? No problem, we’ve got you covered. Have questions about Playback? Also not a problem: refer to the FAQ page on their website.
Alongside the draft, I will be in Seattle to scout the Futures Game. The Futures Game has been a staple of our prospect team’s coverage for years now, and that’ll remain the case this go around in Seattle. This is a particularly fascinating showcase because while the top end of the talent pool has been drained thanks to recent promotions, that provides a chance for someone to stand out in ways we haven’t seen before. Of course, we want to be cautious of making too much of one game, but there’s no denying that it’s better to see your favorite prospects match up against top-flight competition. For as light as the prospect landscape is now, there’s no also denying that there’s a larger percentage of remaining top prospects attending this event compared to previous years. In case you missed who will be partaking in the event, we created write ups with a blurb for each player on both rosters (American League roster preview*, National League roster preview). Before the game, I’ll be posting videos of batting practice on my Twitter page. As the game goes on, I’ll take videos of the event from my scouting seat with instant reactions on what I’m seeing in front of me. And the following day, you’ll have a write-up of all my observations that I think you’d find useful for your fandom and/or fantasy interests.
In addition to Futures Game and Draft coverage, we’ll provide the usual heavy hitters on Monday and Tuesday, with pieces that will cover both the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. As you can see, we have a lot of things lined up for you. We hope you’ll consider spending part of your All-Star weekend with us as we try to provide you with more ways to watch the game we all love.
*Writer’s note: Luis Guerrero was added to the Futures Game as a replacement for Shane Drohaan. He’s not included in our AL roster roundup being that he was added to the roster several days after the article’s publication, but my preseason writeup of him can be found here.
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'21- https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=7/11/2021&gamePk=657048&chartType=pitch&legendType=pitchName&playerType=pitcher&inning=&count=&pitchHand=&batSide=&descFilter=&ptFilter=&resultFilter=&hf=scoreboard#657048
'22- https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=7/17/2022&gamePk=713684&chartType=movement&legendType=pitchName&playerType=pitcher&inning=&count=&pitchHand=&batSide=&descFilter=&ptFilter=&resultFilter=&hf=scoreboard#713684