[ifspuds]

2015 Bay League Draft

Representatives of the eight founding Bay League teams met today in Tifton at the offices of league president John Baxter, where they selected players from the Outpost-wide tryouts held last month. The Allison Spelunkers, by virtue of their last-place finish the previous season, were awarded first choice from among all the players who had tried out and were deemed talented enough to have a shot at playing in the league. With that first selection, the Spelunkers selected 18-year old first baseman Walter Sebring, from the remote village of North Reach on the north coast of the Outposts. Sebring is said to be very talented, a powerful, disciplined hitter that ought to see action with the Spelunkers at some point during the upcoming Bay League season.

The Marsein Knights owned the rights to the second selection, and they surprised many observers with knowledge of the player pool by selecting 18-year outfielder Matt Roy. The Knights are already a strong offensive team, and the addition of Roy will likely only improve that standing. With a talented pitcher, Ahmad Reese, available, many expected the Knights to call Reese's name rather than Roy's. Instead, Reese went to the next team, the Tifton Generals, which prompted insinuations from some quarters that league founder (and Tifton Generals owner) John Baxter exerted influence with his close associate, Marsein Knights owner Carroll Eichhorn, in order to get the Knights to skip over the talented Reese with their selection. The Generals denied these allegations, noting that they would have been just as happy with the outfielder Roy. It is likely that Reese and Roy will be watched carefully early in their careers to see how their paths diverge.

The first round of selections went as follows:
1. Allison Spelunkers -- Walter Sebring, 18 years old, First Base (4/3/4/8/5 ratings, 8/5/9/10/7 talents)

2. Marsein Knights -- Matt Roy, 18 years old, Left Field/Right Field (4/4/4/4/4 ratings, 7/7/9/7/7 talents)

3. Tifton Generals -- Ahmad Reese, 21 years old, Pitcher (3/5/4 ratings, 8/8/8 talents)

4. Silver Beach Whales -- Richie Jones, 21 years old, First Base (4/4/2/3/2 ratings, 7/6/6/6/6 talents)

5. Gentry Hills Scouts -- Damian Latimer, 22 years old, Pitcher (4/4/5 ratings, 8/7/7 talents)

6. Deepvale Ferrymen -- Mike Dodson, 24 years old, Pitcher (2/4/3 ratings, 6/8/6 talents)

7. Elliott Springs Tornadoes -- Lannce Barber, 20 years old, Left Field/Center Field (1/3/2/3/1 ratings, 4/7/6/6/5 talents)

8. Lorris Greens -- Sherman Wells, 18 years old, Second Base (1/4/1/2/1 ratings, 4/7/4/6/4 talents)