I know spring is coming soon when I start getting draft reports from those APBA leagues. I know every league has different rules when it comes to drafting and player usage but it is still helpful to get a sense how other leagues are drafting.
In this case, OAPBA is doing the heavy lifting for the rest of us. Rod Caborn sends us his report of how his league’s draft went.
Here is Rod’s report:
OAPBA (Orlando APBA Assn) set the stage for the league’s 36th season on Sat., Feb. 4, with their 2023 draft.
For the ‘23 draft, each of OAPBA’s five teams drafted from the National League. The draft order for the 2023 remained in reverse order of finish from the previous season.
For the second straight season, Walt Taylor’s Whatevers had the first pick in the draft. The Whats wasted no time in picking starter Sandy Alcantara, backing him up with their second-round selection, starter Kyle Wright. Craig Dolan’s Tsunamis adopted a “get ‘em young” approach in the draft, going with CF Michael Harris with their first pick (#2 in the draft), followed by 2b Jazz Chisolm in the second round and SS Oneil Cruz in the third round.
The league’s newest manager Frank Fumai, who took over the Devils from the late Dave Larson, had the most enjoyable draft of anyone. Fumai, on a cruise in the Carribean, was enjoying piña coladas in the sun, while his draft picks were revealed using a pre-set draft sheet that was revealed one pick at a time in his draft slot. Faumai strengthened the Devils already formidable pitching with P Tony Gonsolin with the third pick in the draft and added closer Edwin Diaz, to the accompaniment of Narco, by Timmy Trumpet, with his pick in the second round.
Rod Caborn’s Beefers took 2b/LF Jeff McNeil with the fourth pick in the draft and league champ Jonathan Stilwell selected SP Logan Webb with the number five pick.
Only one trade preceded the 2023 draft. What manager Walt Taylor traded closer Jordan Romano to the Otters for the Otters sixth round pick.
The ’23 OAPBA Draft was staged at the spacious Winter Park Library, which proved to be an ideal setting with plenty of room for spreading out all the draft information prepared by the managers.
The first-round picks in the 2023 draft:
- Whatevers SP Sandy Alcantara
- Tsunamis CF Michael Harris
- Taz Devils SP Tony Gonsolin
- Beefers 2b Jeff McNeil
- Otters SP Logan Webb
Thanks for the update, Rod. If you want to see the entire OAPBA 2023 draft, you can view it here.
Good luck to all of the OAPBA managers in 2023!
