Jokers Land 1st Overall Pick, 2023 Reserve Draft Order Set

The St. Joseph Jokers by way of the Lake Merced Goutfish will hold the rights to the top overall pick in the 2023 Reserve Draft as the final Reserve Draft Order was set on Sunday evening. The Goutfish came up just short of their pursuit of the Meinert Hops for the final Wild Card spot.

All signs point to outfielder Jackson Chourio being the top selection, but GM Rick Steen has been known to move first round picks in previous seasons as he looks to build a stronger contender at the big league level.

The Jokers acquired the Goutfish's first round pick in a mid-May deal for catcher Yasmani Grandal and outfielder Kyle Lewis. Steen has a bevy of picks early in the Draft holding two first round picks, four second round picks and three third round picks.

It will be the first time in Franchise History that Steen and the Jokers will have the first overall selection.

Full 2023 Reserve Draft Order

2022 Reserve Draft First Round Order

1. St. Joseph Jokers (From Goutfish)

2. Las Vegas Aristocrats

3. Spokane Fightin' Fish (From Hammerheads)

4. Lunatic Fringe

5. Asti Grape Stompers

6. Mt. Diablo Devils

7. Cloverdale Clovers

8. Idaho Taters

9. St. Joseph Jokers

10. Meinert Hops

11. Burlingame Blue Ducks

12. Mission Viejo Maulers

13. Asti Grape Stompers (From Fightin' Fish)

14. Idaho Taters (From Falcons)

15. Cloverdale Clovers (From Stacks)

Stacks Crowned Regular Season Champions for Second Time

The Alamo Short Stacks officially captured their second Regular Season Title in Franchise History, becoming the first to accomplish the feat in Roger Dorn Baseball League History on Sunday. The Stacks rode ace Julio Urias' 26.0 start to a strong Sunday performance for their fifth consecutive 300+ point period that pushed their margin over the second place Maltese Falcons over the 200 mark.

The Stacks took over the lead in Period 3, but faced some stiff competition from the Falcons rose to the top of the Standings in Period 12 uncertainty in the rotation and outfield left GM Greg Shelley on the Trade Market for reinforcements. Shelley would go on to pull off two blockbuster deals with the Cloverdale Clovers and Honolulu Hammerheads that landed them Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers, Ryan McMahon, Corbin Burnes, Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon and Byron Buxton while early season pickup Brendan Rodgers would hit .304 as a Stack to stabilize the shortstop position.

The infusion of top-end talent pushed the Stacks back to the top of the standings in Period 18, growing their lead through the conclusion of the Regular Season in Period 21.

While the trade market certainly helped, the Stacks were led on offense by Manny Machado (who homered twice Sunday) and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. with Ty France and Jeff McNeil proving to be key contributors at $12 combined in the infield. Shelley invested heavily in the bullpen which rewarded the club with a RDBL-high 83 saves, the fourth most in RDBL History led by Emmanuel Clase who notched a 1.17 ERA and 0.65 WHIP with 30 saves.

2022 Activation Logan Gilbert also proved to be a key pillar, finishing second in pitcher scoring for the Stacks with 347.0 points while in the Active Lineup while Brandon Woodruff shook off early season struggles to post a sub 2.50 ERA since mid-May.

The Stacks, Falcons and Spokane Fightin' Fish extended their record, becoming the first Franchises to capture four Division Titles while the Stacks and Falcons are the first teams to finish in the money in seven separate seasons. The Stacks hold the record with four consecutive trips to the Playoffs, the longest streak in the RDBL.

While the Front Office is pleased with the Regular Season results, the club has yet to win the RDBL Playoffs and will look to break that curse in 2022. Their will be plenty of competition as the Playoff group looks as strong as it has ever been with the red-hot Burlingame Blue Ducks, Maltese Falcons, Spokane Fightin' Fish, Mission Viejo Maulers and Meinert Hops all confident heading into the final run of the season.

Wild Card, Masters Division Down to Sunday Night Baseball

The race for the Masters Division Title and final Wild Card spot will go down to Sunday Night Baseball between the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.

Here's an overview of where things stand before first pitch:

Spokane Fightin' Fish (+7.5) vs. Mission Viejo Maulers

*Commish Lineup Edit from Saturday is missing -1.5 Points for Maulers

At Stake: Masters Division Title, $250

The Maulers had four scheduled starting pitchers on Sunday that posted 59.0 combined points. GM Chris Ferraro only got three innings from ace Justin Verlander who left the game early with calf tightness while Aaron Civale just missed getting out of a scoreless fifth inning when Owen Miller misplayed a foul pop up. One pitch later, Civale allowed a 3-run home run to Dylan Moore.

Remaining Players:

Fish: OF Tyler O'Neill (Not in Starting Lineup)

Maulers: 3B Nolan Arenado (Hitting 4th), Ronald Acuña (Not In Starting Lineup, Knee)

Meinert Hops (+14.0) vs. Lake Merced Goutfish

At Stake: Winner Takes Home Final Wild Card, Loser Eliminated

The Hops looked to be sunk in the late morning as Dylan Cease and Noah Syndergaard were rolling while the Hops offense was 2-for-14 with Eric Lauer scuffling against the Cubs. Things quickly flipped as Syndergaard imploded in the 6th inning while the Hops roared back by going 10-for-21 with three home runs from George Springer, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

The Hops are out of available players while the Goutfish will have Matt Olson and Tommy Edman in the lineup for the Cardinals tonight.

Remaining Players:

Hops: N/A

Goutfish: 1B Matt Olson (Hitting 2nd), IF/OF Tommy Edman (Hitting 9th)