Justin Sinibaldi, Tony Santa Maria selected by Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays in 2024 MLB Draft
The Rutgers baseball team will have even more former Scarlet Knights playing in the Major Leagues. On day three of the 2024 MLB Draft, left-handed pitcher Justin Sinibaldi was picked in the 14th round with the 409th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox and infielder Tony Santa Maria was selected with the 576th overall pick in the 19th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sinibaldi, who hails from Bridgewater, New Jersey, was Rutgers’ top starting pitcher last season. He had a 4-4 record with a 3.47 earned run average (ERA), threw 65 strikeouts and held opponents to a .225 batting average. Sinibaldi was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors.
In 58 games as a Knight, Sinibaldi boasted a 12-6 record and 4.14 ERA, striking out 163 batters in 197.2 innings pitched and owning a .257 batting average against.
Santa Maria had an impressive final season on the Banks, hitting .324 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 55 runs batted in (RBI). The third baseman from Absecon, New Jersey, started his collegiate career at Iona before transferring to Rutgers his sophomore year.
That season, Santa Maria slashed .303 with 10 homers and 69 RBI, with the latter being third in program history for most in a single season. Santa Maria suffered an injury and missed most of the 2023 season but still hit .315 with 24 home runs, 126 RBI, 22 stolen bases and 116 runs scored.
The duo will join shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer, left-handed pitcher Donovan Zsak and former Knights Ryan Lakso and Drew Conover in the MLB. Kuroda-Grauer and Zsak were selected by the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Guardians, respectively, on day one of the 2024 MLB Draft. The Athletics drafted Lasko and Conover in last year’s MLB Draft.
Rutgers will look to continue producing top talent en route to a Big Ten Championship in 2025 and return to the NCAA Tournament.
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