First Pitch Arizona 2026 - Speakers/Contributors

Speaker/ Contributor List is subject to change.

Greg Ambrosius (National Fantasy Baseball Championship)

Greg is the founder of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) and is currently the General Manager of Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies. Greg has been the editor of Fantasy Sports Magazine since 1989 and is a former president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) and the Fantasy Sports Association (FSA). Greg is a member of the FSTA Hall of Fame and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.

Andy Andres (BaseballHQ.com)

Andy teaches Statistics and Data Science at Boston University, but also developed the highly successful MOOC “Sabermetrics 101: An Introduction to Baseball Analytics” to about 70,000 registered learners on the edX.org platform. As a Datacaster/Stringer and Pitch Clock Operator/FTC for MLB, he is responsible for running the various in-game clocks and keeping score of games for various Internet applications like MLB.com’s Gameday.

Ryan Bloomfield (BaseballHQ.com)

Ryan is a three-time FSWA award winner and 12-time finalist, most recently winning the 2024 award for Best Baseball Article. He has been writing for BaseballHQ.com since 2012, where he pens weekly Speculator and FAAB columns. Ryan is an Associate Editor of the Baseball Forecaster and has contributed to the book since 2013. He's a co-host on the Bubba and the Bloom podcast with fellow speaker Brian "Bubba" Entrekin.

Britton Allan (Pallazzo Podcast)

Britton is a co-host of the wildly popular and always irreverent Pallazzo Podcast. He's a fantasy baseball fanatic with a track record of smashing success and crushing defeat. He lives in Nashville with his two wonderful daughters and fantastic wife Sarah, who also happens to be a brilliant editor for BaseballHQ. Go Big Orange.

Mike Carter (BaseballHQ.com; F antrax.com)

Mike is a senior writer at Fantrax covering bullpens weekly during the season and writes two weekly waiver wire pieces and a prospect piece at RotoBaller as well. He also co-hosts the FSWA award-nominated Fantasy Baseball Beat podcast with Chris Torres and Dave Funnell, where beat writers are interviewed and give their takes on players and player usage. He is also a mental health advocate. Mike can be followed at the worst Twitter handle of all time, @mdrc0508.

Derek Carty (THE BAT X)

Derek is a DFS- and sports betting-focused analyst whose work you may find at ESPN, RotoGrinders, EV Analytics, or any number of other places. He is the creator of THE BAT X projection system for season-long (at FanGraphs), DFS (at RotoGrinders), and sports betting (at EV Analytics), which is routinely found to be the most accurate original projection system in fantasy in third-party studies. Derek has won 10+ MLB expert league titles with 25+ top-three finishes (roughly 50%), including being the youngest-ever winner of LABR. He was previously a regular on ESPN's Baseball Tonight and is a proud graduate of MLB's Scout School.

Matt Cederholm (BaseballHQ.com)

Matt has been playing Rotisserie baseball since before the reserve roster existed. He’s been a BaseballHQ.com writer since 2010, and has written the Big Hurt column since 2017 (he’s a doctor, but not that kind of doctor). He likes pitchers with high K% and teams that do MRIs on muscle strains. He doesn't like small samples or pitch framing.

Ariel Cohen (FanGraphs.com)

Ariel was the 2019 FSWA Baseball Writer of the Year, the 2020 FSWA Baseball Article of the Year awardee, and is the 2024 Best Baseball Podcast winner for his Beat the Shift podcast. He is an 11-time FSWA award nominee. He is the creator of the ATC (Average Total Cost) Projection System, and was the 2020 and 2025 Tout Wars Head to Head winner. He writes for FanGraphs, CBS Sports, SportsLine, RotoBaller and is the host of the Beat the Shift Podcast (@Beat_Shift_Pod). Follow Ariel on Twitter/X at @ATCNY.

Jason Collette (RotoWire.com)

Jason has been helping fantasy owners since 2001 at RotoJunkie, Fanball, and currently at RotoWire where his Collette Calls column won best baseball column in 2018. He was also the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. You can hear Jason on Saturdays on the RotoWire SiriusXM Fantasy show throughout the season as well as on The Sleeper and The Bust podcast with Paul Sporer and Justin Mason each Sunday. You can follow his work on BlueSky at jasoncollette.bsky.social.

Eric Cross (ToolshedFantasy.com)

Eric is the lead MLB Writer at RotoBaller and the host of the Toolshed podcast, covering fantasy baseball, dynasty, and prospects. Eric is a 3-time FSWA finalist and won the FSWA Baseball Writer of the Year award in 2021. Outside of baseball, he is a father of two and lives on the coast of Maine. Follow Eric on Twitter/X @EricCrossMLB.

Doug Dennis (BaseballHQ.com)

Doug has been Baseball HQ’s Bullpen Buyers Guide columnist since 1999. In addition, he has written articles for the Baseball Forecaster, USA Today, Sports Weekly, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine and he assisted the St. Louis Cardinals with player analysis for two years.

Brian Entrekin (BaseballHQ.com)

Most know Brian as "KC Bubba" and for his many podcasts—most importantly Benched with Bubba and Bubba & the Bloom. He writes for many outlets including BaseballHQ and FantasyPros. You can also find Bubba on Twitter @bdentrek.

Brian Feldman (FantasyBaseballAuctioneer.com)

Brian has been the primary auctioneer for multiple high-profile experts leagues over the past 25 years, including Tout Wars and LABR. He was featured in both the book and movie versions of Sam Walker’s 'Fantasyland', and is a participant at XFL here at FPAZ, as well as in Tout and LABR. Brian is celebrating his 35th year playing fantasy, and his first with his new kidney...

Michael Govier (Pallazzo Podcast)

Michael is a born and raised Michigander. He's the host of the Pallazzo Podcast Fantasy Baseball show, which wrapping up its 7th year in production, and a four-year veteran of Tout Wars. He fears the impending lockout, and is kindly referred to as your friendly neighborhood bozo :)

Rick Graham (PitcherList.com)

Rick is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Pitcher List, where he has been covering bullpens since 2017. He has playing and coaching experience at the collegiate level and previously contributed at Rotoballer. Rick also participates in Tout Wars (NL-only) and co-hosts the In The Pen Podcast (@InThePenPod) with Jake Crumpler. Follow Rick’s work on socials at @iAmRickGraham.

Brent Hershey (BaseballHQ.com)

Brent is the General Manager of Content for BaseballHQ.com and serves as co-editor of the Baseball Forecaster and editor of the Minor League Baseball Analyst annuals. He has been writing at BaseballHQ.com since 1998. Follow him on Twitter @BrentHQ.

Greg Jewett (Reliever Recon patreon)

Greg is the closer expert for The Athletic (since 2021), operates and owns Reliever Recon (also since 2021), took over Closer Monkey in 2024, and contributes to BaseballHQ with in-season lineup columns. Two-time Tout Wars champion since 2021, winning the head-to-head points league in 2023 and the SOLDS/OBP league in 2025.

John Kracum (Scoresheet.com)

John is one of the operators of Scoresheet Baseball, the only fantasy baseball simulation using current-year stats to play full 162-game fantasy seasons alongside the pros. He learned how to use Microsoft Excel by entering MLB data for his dad's Scoresheet team in the early 1990s, and somehow has stuck with the game. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughters and spends too much of his time rewatching Schwarzenegger movies.

Eric Longenhagen (FanGraphs.com)

Eric is FanGraphs' Lead Prospect Analyst since 2016.

Mike Mager (www.ftnfantasy.com)

Mike is a successful high-stakes fantasy player with 14 Top Ten overall finishes in the NFBC, including three in the Main Event (2nd, 3rd, and 8th), two in the Draft Champions contest (2nd and 4th), and eight in the Auction Championship contest (which he won in 2024 and 2025). In 2026, Mike was inducted into the NFBC Hall of Fame. He writes regularly at FTN Fantasy.

Matt Martingale (Elias Sports Bureau)

Matt started playing fantasy baseball and working at Elias in 1995. He loves baseball history and has written notes on multiple sports for clients such as ESPN, MLB Network, NFL Network, and Turner Sports. He finished 13th overall in TGFBI in 2023.

Justin Mason (FanGraphs.com)

Justin is the Lead Fantasy Writer and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits, the owner The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational, and a certified addiction specialist. Justin writes for FWFB, Fantasy Pros, and FanGraphs and can be heard via podcast on the Sleeper and the Bust and FWFB podcasts. He can be found on social media @JustinMasonFWFB.

Ray Murphy (BaseballHQ.com)

Ray is the General Manager of Administration for BaseballHQ.com and co-editor of the Baseball Forecaster annual. He has been writing at BaseballHQ.com since 1999. Primarily a mixed-league player, his notable victories include five NFBC Main Event league titles (including 4th-overall finishes in both 2012 and 2016), three LABR-Mixed leagues (one draft, two auction), as well as the 2019 Tout Wars Mixed Draft.

Dean Peterson (National Fantasy Baseball Championship)

Dean is a facilitator for live NFBC events in Chicago and a former 12-year Tout Wars veteran representing STATS LLC, where he also kept the data flowing to support your favorite fantasy games for many years. He is a life-long fan of Strat-O-Matic baseball, where he currently administers one league and participates in 3 others.

Nick Pollack (PitcherList.com)

Nick is the founder of Pitcher List, 5x FSWA winner, and creator of too many dumb fantasy terms.

Eric Samulski (Rotoworld.com)

Eric is a writer for NBC Sports and the co-host of On The Corner podcast with Nick Pollack. He played four years of collegiate baseball and then a year of professional baseball in Australia. He worked in NYC as an English teacher and coach for 11 years before becoming a full-time writer. He was also the hidden character “Air Dog” in NBA Jam.

Sara Sanchez (BaseballHQ.com)

Sara is a baseball analyst who divides her time between her love of the Cubs and fantasy baseball. She’s written for FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. You can currently find her fantasy analysis at BaseballHQ. She’s the 2022 GLARF champion and the 2022 runner-up in the Tout Wars 12-team alternate categories mixed league. Her fantasy takes are powered by nitro cold brew, rosé, and the vibes in the left field bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Eno Sarris (TheAthletic.com)

Eno podcasts every weekday on Rates & Barrels, and writes regularly about analytics, player development and fantasy baseball for The Athletic. He's been studying pitching since he was a contributor on FanGraphs 20 years ago and helped pioneer stuff metrics along the way. Find him wherever there's good baseball, good beer, and good food.

Jesse Severe (BaseballHQ.com)

Jesse is an avid dynasty player with two podcasts: Dynasty Sports Life (covering dynasty baseball, football, basketball and multi-sport topics since 2021) and Fantasy Hockey Life, a podcast of dynasty fantasy hockey since 2019. He writes on the prospect team and other articles for BaseballHQ and plays in way too many fantasy leagues year round. He also writes for Fantrax.com. He has a very patient wife, Rebecca.

Niv Shah (Ottoneu)

Niv runs Ottoneu Fantasy Sports and OnRoto.com Fantasy Sports.

Ron Shandler (RonShandler.com)

Ron’s eponymous Baseball Forecaster has been creating fantasy baseball winners since 1986. He is the founder of BaseballHQ.com, spearheaded the creation of Tout Wars and co-founded this First Pitch Arizona event. Ron owns dozens of top-3 finishes in national experts leagues since 1994, has written for numerous publications and websites, including USA Today, ESPN, and The Athletic, and is an FSGA/FSWA Hall-of-Famer. He tweets random brain flakes @RonShandler. Copies of his new book, “Fantasy, Reconstructed,” will be available at this conference.

Paul Sporer (FanGraphs.com)

Paul is a Writer and Editor for FanGraphs, running his Daily SP Chart throughout the season and hosting the award-winning Sleeper and The Bust podcast all year long with Justin Mason, Joe Orrico, and Jason Collette as co-hosts. He is also the Content Director for Out of the Park Baseball's Perfect Team game, creating digital player cards for all of baseball history.

Chris Towers (CBSSports.com)

Chris co-hosts the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast and writes the Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter for CBSSports.com. There isn't much room for much beyond that, but when he has the time, you can find him at a concert or arguing about Star Wars.

Derek VanRiper (TheAthletic.com)

Derek (“DVR”) is a podcast producer and host at The Athletic (Rates & Barrels). He has played fantasy baseball for 20+ years, competing in a wide array of draft and auction formats including industry leagues (Tout Wars, LABR, TGFBI, XFL) and the NFBC.

Brian Walton (TheCardinalNation.com; Creativesports.com)
Brian runs TheCardinalNation.com, covering the St. Louis Cardinals and their minor league system. He is also one of the principals of Creativesports.com and competes in the XFL, Xperts Fantasy League, LABR and Tout Wars. Brian was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in league history.

Sam Wirsching (Pallazzo Podcast)

Sam is a semi regular contributor with the Pallazzo team and also has started a project with PitcherList. Sam lives in the PNW with his family, 4 dogs, and 2 cats. A sponsor of the Aquasox, he is a an obsessive fan of the Mariners and all things Cal Raleigh.

Jeff Zimmerman (FanGraphs.com)

Jeff is one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide, The Process, and writes for RotoGraphs and RotoWire. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won several FSWA Awards including best publication for The Process. He's won numerous industry leagues including the 2024 TGFBI overall along with five NFBC Supers ($2.5K buy-ins). Follow him on BlueSky @jeffwzimmerman.

Todd Zola (Mastersball.com)

Todd is the principal owner of Mastersball.com along with writing for RotoWire, Fantasy Index and ESPN. He can be heard year-round for an hour every Saturday on MLB Network Radio and in-season on SiriusXM Fantasy Radio. Todd participates in LABR, Tout Wars, and the XFL and is a multiple-time champion in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. In 2017, Todd was named the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Baseball Writer of the Year. In 2020, he was inducted into the FSWA Hall of Fame. Todd is the editor-in-chief of the relaunched Fantasy Index Baseball Magazine.