Royals Pick North Schuylkill’s Crawford, Brewers Take Pottsville Grad Nabholz in MLB Draft

Two Schuylkill League baseball standouts got picked in the late rounds of the MLB Draft on Wednesday.

North Schuylkill senior pitcher Reggie Crawford and former Pottsville Area pitcher Eli Nabholz were each taken in the draft on Wednesday.

The picks of the local stars happened in the final hour or two of the 40-round draft.

Kansas City Royals Take Reggie Crawford in 37th Round

The wait finally came to an end for North Schuylkill’s Reggie Crawford on Wednesday evening.

With the 1099th pick in the 37th round of the MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Crawford.

Crawford is the standout pitcher and now recent graduate of North Schuylkill. He’s currently part of the Spartans team looking for a PIAA championship. They play Thursday.

Crawford previously committed to play at University of Connecticut prior to the start of the 2019 baseball season.

The 2019 #MLBDraft is officially in the books. #Royals pic.twitter.com/WpFjX2NZ12

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 5, 2019

The Royals actually held the second overall pick in the MLB Draft. Crawford is one of just 6 players taken by the Royals not already in college. The #2 pick, Bobby Witt Jr., is the son of former Major Leaguer Bobby Witt.

Milwaukee Brewers Take Millersville Pitcher Eli Nabholz

Eli Nabholz didn’t have to wait much more than Crawford to hear his name called in the Draft. With the 1153rd pick in the 38th round of the MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers took the former Pottsville Area standout.

Nabholz just finished his senior season at Millersville University, going 11-3 in 14 starts. He was named the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year for the second year running in 2019. And he set a new mark becoming the first pitcher in Marauders baseball history to strike out 80 batters in 3 different seasons.

In a statement from Millersville University, Nabholz says he prepared for the possibility of not getting drafted.

“I was talking to my parents today about what we do if I didn’t get drafted,” he says. “We talked about all the hard work I’ve put in. It all started in the eighth grade with the goal of getting to this point. It has really been years and years of hard work for this opportunity.”