Afternoon Tea (2061-01): A Live Draft Reaction from the Vallés Household

[woods]

The Vallés family was ready for draft day, which they viewed as more of a formality than anything. Their pride and joy, Félix Vallés, was the prize of this draft, the consensus #1 pick, and one of the best pitching prospects in a generation. He knew he would be going to Athens, owners of the first pick.

And while the draft was mostly a done deal, the Vallés family wasn't about to turn down an excuse to throw a themed party. To celebrate, the whole group was decked out in Greek-style togas, with laurel wreaths on the heads of everyone except Félix, who wore a brand-new Fighting Centaurs cap. There was a bust in the style of Venus de Milo on the mantle, except it was Quinn Greene's armless body in a Centaurs jersey.

Félix's older brother, Mateo, walked in as the draft was about to commence. He was wearing the back half of a two-person horse costume.

"Ey, Félix!" he called to his brother. "You sure you don't wanna do the Centaur outfit with me?"

"Stop being a horse's ass," Félix said. "Piker's talking about me."

On the live stream was indeed famed draft analyst, Lem Piker Sr., comparing Vallés to active BBA players. "He's Semih Gurânî, if Gurânî had better secondary pitches. Gurânî wishes he was Vallés. Hell, I wish I was Vallés."

It was true; if Vallés developed to his potential, he would be one of the greatest pitchers in BBA or GBC history. He was a #1 pick worth tanking for. And Athens, intentional or not, had just delivered a 98-loss season that had earned them Vallés as a reward. He would make it all worth it.

A hush fall across the room as GBC commissioner Eric Bigalow approached the podium to announce the first pick.

With the first pick in the 2061 Global Baseball Consortium Draft, the Athens Fighting Centaurs select… Jason Caldwell, outfield, Guam High School.

There was a silence as everyone tried to process what had just happened. Who the hell was Jason Caldwell?

Even on the live stream, Piker Sr. was shuffling his notes around, trying to dig up anything about this Jason Caldwell person, whom no one had on any of their draft boards.

At the party, the big question on everyone's mind was, What happens now with Félix?

Well, that, and, What do we do with all this tzatziki?

The Sydney Sharks owned the second pick, but there was about a zero percent chance Vallés was going there. The Sharks' GM had been publicly drooling over their expected pick, the Russian shortstop, Ilia Arakchaa, nonstop since the draft pool was announced. There wasn't a force in this universe that could make them change direction now.

Which meant Vallés would likely be the third pick, and that belonged to…

"London?" several of Vallés' partygoers said at the same time, as they had all done the math in their heads. "You're going to London?"

"Monarchs aren't cool. That's the lamest team there is," said Mateo. He gestured to the horse pants, which he was still wearing. "You were going to be an epic, mythological arrow-shooting man-horse. Now you're just an old British dude."

Sure enough, London drafted Vallés with the third pick, happy to accept the gift that had fallen to them.

Félix was dejected. The room around him was silent, aside from some sporadic whispers, as his family and friends attempted to educate themselves about this strange place called London they were now required to root for.

"Did you know they drive on the left side of the road?"

"What the hell is a crumpet?"

Félix's mother broke the group's silence as she came in from the kitchen with a hot tray of fresh-baked bread. "Fresh pita! Did I miss anything?"

[Dington]

Interesting pick at #1, to say the least. Valles is a stud, but wonder if he will develop at 23.

[swillthough]

Valles looks so nice, an absolute travesty he didn't go number one.

[thatboynicecoast]

I didn’t say anything at the time because I was new and didn’t know if there was context I was missing, but Caldwell was one of the most head-scratching 1.1’s I’ve ever seen.

[Dington]

Valles looks so nice, an absolute travesty he didn't go number one.

Meh. He looks great, but already 23 and needs a lot of developing. There's a case for 1.1, but not a slam dunk. I like the SS, personally, though he also needs to develop.

[woods]

Meh. He looks great, but already 23 and needs a lot of developing. There's a case for 1.1, but not a slam dunk. I like the SS, personally, though he also needs to develop.

This is just a thing Chad likes to say when he really likes a guy, and wants to lower his perceived value before he trades for him.

[Dington]

Meh. He looks great, but already 23 and needs a lot of developing. There's a case for 1.1, but not a slam dunk. I like the SS, personally, though he also needs to develop.

This is just a thing Chad likes to say when he really likes a guy, and wants to lower his perceived value before he trades for him.

Except I’m not able to trade for either of them. If you have a decent SS, Valles is the pick, but the SS looks to be pretty good if he even develops a little bit. Both could be busts, but at least you would have solid defense up the middle.

[recte44]

[recte44]