Thank goodness for the Roberto Clemente Memorial Baseball Association!
Because the RCMBA drafts a week or two before other leagues do, they set the tone for how other drafts will go. At the very least, they give us a sense of what other APBA fans are thinking. John Briggs emailed me to let me know (thanks, John!)
On February 3rd in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, the RCMBA managers congregated to conduct their 2024 draft. A total of 188 players were chosen.
The Top Picks
John said there was a pre-draft debate on whether Elly de la Cruz or Grayson Rodriguez would get drafted first.
Here’s how it went down for the first few picks.
| Pick | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarasota | Elly de la Cruz |
| 2 | Manhattan | Eury Perez |
| 3 | Atlanta | Royce Lewis |
| 4 | Albuquerque | Matt McLain |
| 5 | Philadelphia | Gabriel Moreno |
| 6 | Bennett Run | Josh Jung |
| 7 | Bennett Run | Bryce Elder |
| 8 | Burnsville | Grayson Rodriguez |
Apparently, conventional wisdom about Rodriguez was a bit off but he did get drafted 8th. The important thing is that Elly de la Cruz went first and RCMBA manager Joe Jutzi will enjoy his talents for the foreseeable future.
Feel free to peruse the entire RCMBA 2024 draft at their great website. Here is the link to the 2024 RCMBA draft. I know I will be studying it before the Illowa draft a week from Friday.
thanks, John!
