Introducing: The 2020 All-RCBL Team

By Mitchell Broughton
Many have said that this 2020 season has been filled with the highest level of individual talent that the RCBL has seen since its start in 1924. With many other collegiate and amatuer baseball leagues around the country being cancelled, the RCBL has been a landing spot for a lot of the Shenandoah Valley’s top talent. There were a lot of players in consideration for this team, but ultimately those who voted determined that these ball players were the best that the county league had to offer: 

Pitcher: Adam Riggleman, Broadway Bruins — Riggleman has been a dominant, under the radar threat on the mound this season for the Bruins. The Pitcher of the Year finished the regular season with an undefeated record of 3-0 and the league’s best ERA of 0.78 in 23 innings pitched.
 
Pitcher: Darrell Thompson, New Market Shockers — Thompson has had one of the best individual pitching performances in recent RCBL history. In 37 innings, he has struckout 55 batters and only walked six — that gives him a ridiculous strikeout-to-walk ratio of a little over 9 strikeouts per walk.
 
Pitcher: Lliam Grubbs, Bridgewater Reds — Grubbs is the only other pitcher besides Riggleman to finish the season with an ERA less than one — his being 0.84. In 21.1 innings, he has allowed only two runs, struck out 30, and only walked eight. Grubbs is the best of the arsenal of arms on the Bridgewater roster.
 
Pitcher: Mike Dailey, Grottoes Cardinals — The VCU Ram has also had quite the season for Grottoes. With a record of 3-1, Dailey has struck out 31 batters and only walked five. In 17 innings he has an ERA of 2.65 which is good for fourth-best in the league.
 
Catcher: Dylan Nicely, Grottoes Cardinals — Dylan started out the 2020 season in a double header against Montezuma where he went 7-for-8 with three home runs and five RBIs. Since then, he has been one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. In the regular season, Nicely batted .403 with 29 hits (12 extra base hits) and 15 RBIs. Nicely led all catchers with 152 putouts this season and had a fielding percentage of .981 in 132 innings behind the plate. 

Catcher: Adam Hackenburg, Montezuma Braves — The Clemson Tiger was the best player on the Braves’ roster this season. He had the second-best fielding percentage of all catchers, .991 in 93 innings behind the plate. In the batter’s box Hackenburg hit .388 with four doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.

Infielder: Cody Bartley, Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks — Bartley was one of the top hitters in the league this season. He finished third in batting average (.438), second in RBIs (30), and second in home runs (10). Cody has been the strongest offensive player for the D-backs this season. 

Infielder: Josh Jones, Broadway Bruins — When the Bruins hired Bob Wease, the league knew that Josh Jones would be one of the players that he would be bringing with him to boost the Broadway roster. And he did. Jones finished the regular season batting .375 with 11 extra base hits and 29 RBIs, good for third-best in the RCBL.
 
Infielder: Kevin Navedo, Clover Hill Bucks — Navedo is one of the best defensive infielders that the league has to offer. In the regular season Kevin finished with a .909 fielding percentage but also pitched in at the plate. Navedo hit .365 with 15 RBIs in his first season in the RCBL.
 
Infielder: Nick Goode, New Market Shockers — Goode had the fourth-best batting average in the league of .415. He finished the regular season with six RBIs and eight stolen bases, but also had a perfect fielding percentage at first base for the Shockers.
 
Infielder: Tanner Morris, Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks — Tanner is one of the top defensive shortstops in the RCBL; with a fielding percentage of .936 he has only made two errors in 85 innings in the field. He also ranks second in the league batting .462 to go along with four home runs and 19 RBIs.
 
Outfielder: Chase DeLauter, Broadway Bruins — This year’s Rookie of the Year and MVP has been the most dominant player in the league by far. Batting .545 in the regular season, Chase led the RCBL in hits, runs, home runs, extra base hits, RBIs, and many other offensive categories. He broke the RCBL’s regular season home run record (Pointstreak era, since 2013) with 13 in just 19 games played. Also, in center field he has recorded 32 putouts in 121 innings with zero errors. 

Outfielder: Corbin Lucas, Bridgewater Reds — Last year’s MVP continued to showcase why he is one of the league’s top players. He is tied for fourth in the RCBL batting .415 to go along with 16 RBIs, seven extra base hits, and 18 runs scored. 

Outfielder: Henry Delavergne, New Market Shockers — Henry is one of the best all-around players in the RCBL. This season, he hit .338 with five extra base hits, 11 RBIs, and 20 runs scored. He also leads the league in stolen bases with 16 so far. 

Outfielder: Jacob Grabeel, Bridgewater Reds — In 152 innings in the outfield, Grabeel has only made one error, that leaves him with a fielding percentage of .944. At the plate, Jacob hit .342 with nine extra base hits, 15 RBIs, and 20 runs scored. He is another outfielder that is one of the best all-around players in the RCBL.

Designated Hitter: J.J. Loker, Elkton Blue Sox — With a .525 on-base percentage, Loker has done his job as a DH better than the rest. In the regular season he batted .362 with eight extra base hits, 25 RBIs, and 20 runs scored himself. He also has the fourth-best slugging percentage in the RCBL at .707. 

Utility: Austin Nicely, Grottoes Cardinals — Nicely was definitely one of the players in the conversation for MVP this year. He did it all for Grottoes. In 14 innings on the mound, Austin recorded zero earned runs, struck out 22 batters, and only walked one. At the plate he hit .395 with 12 extra base hits, 18 RBIs, and 19 runs scored. Playing in the field at multiple positions, Nicely went the whole regular season without recording a single error for the Cardinals.