The Hitting Zone

The draft went on with the first round wrapping up after the 29th pick. When I asked Noah why it stopped at 29 and not 30, he reminded me of the scandal that just rained down on baseball.

"The Astros had to forfeit their first round pick." Noah made a face of disgust. "Bunch of cheaters."

"You gotta keep neutral when it comes to the draft." Kyle reminded him.

"Good thing I have a couple more years to get over it." Noah shrugged. "Then time in the minors. If I do make it to the Astros starting roster, I can handle the boos and chatter." He gave me a sympathetic look. "Better get a thicker skin, Jake."

Kyle laughed. "He would pass out. I'd bet on it."

"Hey! He's getting better." Dave defended me before pulling my head to his chest. "There, there. Come on, Jake, let's practice. Say it with me: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

I froze. "Would they really throw things at me?"

The three of them burst into laughter.

"If they do, you'll have security there to back you up and throw them out." Noah was the first to answer.

"Yea, and even if they do say some mean things, just pretend your deaf." Dave pushed me away.

"It's a good thing you don't play in the outfield." Kyle told me. "They can get really rowdy out there. Some players have made complaints. I've heard Fenway Park is the worst."

"Jake would totally be a DH anyways." Dave said. "He'd only have to deal with the fans behind the dugout. He could easily tune them out."

The room slowly lost people as they started to go home. Garret was picked and we had celebrated, joining in with his excitement. His coaches were mostly the first to go, slowly followed by our classmates and teammates. Tomorrow was still a school day even if it was just for show. Maybe sign yearbooks and eat junk food.

Garret's parents ordered pizza for those of us left and who had opted to stay. His dad had to switch the tv to the streaming option to show round two.

"How soon is Carson projected to go?" Kyle asked. He had known that Jeremy was coming over tomorrow to watch for his potential selection. We also told him about Carson being a potential second round pick, but we didn't give the details.

"His name should be on the screen soon enough." Dave answered, staring at the tv. It eventually flashed to top available players per position. "Ah, towards the back end."

"The A's have the 58th pick." Garret pointed out. "Wouldn't it be wild if they pick him? Like he would already be at the stadium to celebrate and everything."

Noah made a look of disgust. "That would be theatrical. Like purely for show."

"Hey, sometimes it's like that." Garret pointed out. "You have to make headlines, create stories that people would be interested in. I bet when Kyle gets drafted, they talk about Zeke. Possibly even Dave. Heck, maybe about Jeremy, Jake, and you. It's a good storyline too."

Noah glanced at me. "Would you care if the A's drafted him?"

I shook my head. "It wouldn't mean that he's playing with Jeremy. You guys say it all the time; there's a lot of moves in the minors. Trades and transactions."

Noah nodded slowly. "Yea. Right. Doesn't matter." He folded his arms across his chest. "Make all the stories and headlines they want. We've got a better one."

Carson ended up going sooner than we thought. The thirteenth pick in the second round, 50th overall, the Texas Rangers drafted him. Straight out of high school and being Jeremy Patterson's younger cousin; he garnered a lot of attention.

We watched as the screen changed to him and Jeremy high fiving one another before a brief hug. He then hugged his mom…then his dad. I tried to keep a neutral expression, but Noah didn't. Carson moved to his two younger sisters: Gabby and Makenna. Everyone had big smiles, as they should, but it just felt weird.

"You think you would be at the A's stadium like him in two years?" Tyler, one of our relief pitchers, asked me. He looked curious.

I looked to Noah.

Noah rolled his eyes. "What are you looking to me for?"

I shrugged. "I don't know so I felt like you would know."

Noah twisted his lips. "We don't even know next year's schedule so how would we know if the A's play or not in two years. Or whether they even play at home or not." He grinned. "Besides, as a future number one, you should probably physically be at the draft."

A lot of the guys liked the sound of that. Everyone that was left talked about being at the actually draft and voted that I should go. Be able to walk up that stage and shake the commissioners hand and wear my team's jersey. Some of the guys voted that I should stick to hosting a watch party like Garret. It felt more inclusive which I agreed with.

"He definitely won't be going in person." Dave took a stand. "Jake's so skittish. Plus, he likes to keep things lowkey. We'll be holding a party for sure."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Kyle rolled his eyes. "You'll be in school and I'll hopefully be making my debut for the majors. We won't be home."

"No way you make your debut at 20." Noah laughed. "I would even dare say Jake debuts before you."

"Yea, even I think 20 is a stretch." Garret said. "College players spend less time in minors than us. We still have to finish growing and developing."

Kyle stretched his neck high. "If I keep growing, I might be the tallest pitcher ever."

"No way." Dave rolled his eyes. "Randy Johnson was 6' 10". Dad's not even that tall. Besides, I would hate to grow that much. It would mess with my mechanics."

"It's not like we would grow half a foot over night." Kyle shot back. "You would make small adjustments just like we have been. Barely noticeable."

Garret looked towards Noah. "I don't know. I feel like Noah is sprouting very fast."

"How? We were taller than him at his age." Kyle shook his head. "I'm thinking he's the shortest out of all of us." He paused. "After Jake." He glanced my way. "No offense. Our parents are just taller."

I shrugged, not bothered.

"Yea, but you guys were always kind of tall even in middle school." Garret argued. "Noah stayed small then grew, then grew some more. I'm thinking by the end of next year, he's taller than me."

"That's not saying much." Dave smirked. Both him and Kyle stood taller than Garret.

The rest of the second round became background noise as we started to talk about heights. Then genetics. Then college classes some of the guys would have to take. Eventually we looked up Garret's minor league options.

As a new signee, he would definitely be starting out at the Rookie level. Which would send him to North Port, Florida. Somewhere none of us had been. Which led to us taking a poll to who had even been to Florida.