Two of Florida’s late risers this spring were Timothy Sexton and Hunter Ovens, and the duo was taken in back to back picks in the 25th round. [...] Continue Reading »

Midway through the 24th round, the Braves, White Sox and Yankees rolled the dice on high-end talent. [...] Continue Reading »

Bo Greenwell is the son of former big leaguer Mike, and was drafted by the Indians in the sixth round. [...] Continue Reading »

The Nationals will have to cough up more than $1 million in order to sign their sixth rounder, but when they took JAck McGeary eariler today, he was the best player remaining in the draft. He has committed to Stanford.

The contrast between the Royals drafts of recent memory and this year’s has been obvious. [...] Continue Reading »

The Blue Jays 22nd-round draft pick, Matt Thompson, was considered a top-five-round talent. His last start for Santa Rosa (Calif.) JC saw his velocity down, mostly in the 88 mph range.

I just returned to our offices in North Carolina from the draft in Orlando. Bad day to have flight delays, and there’s been plenty of noteworthy picks made in the first two hours of today’s action. [...] Continue Reading »

ORLANDO–While the Brewers’ selection of Florida senior first baseman Matt LaPorta with the seventh-overall pick raised some eyebrows Thursday, the move makes more financial sense as you look closer. [...] Continue Reading »

We’ve already seen all kinds of interesting college players selected on the second day of the draft, from Cole St.Clair to Reid Fronk to Brandon Waring (all in the seventh round). We’re now in the 13th, and there are some very intriguing college sleepers coming off the board. The Indians grabbed Wichita State outfielder Matt Brown with their 13th-rounder. Brown is an excellent athlete with speed, raw power, a strong arm and a chance to hit. Pretty good high-upside pick for the 13th round. The White Sox took Virginia Commonwealth shortstop Sergio Mirando, a very slick defender who also makes consistent, hard contact, as evidenced by his .370 batting average for the Rams this spring. The Mariners selected Austin Peay State righthander Shawn Kelley, who outpitched David Price in the regionals on Friday. And two catchers with some pop lasted until the 13th, somewhat surprising given the demand for backstops. Kentucky’s Sean Coughlin went to the Diamondbacks, and San Diego’s Jordan Abruzzo went to the Mets.

I know what you’re thinking, why look anywhere other than BaseballAmerica.com for draft analysis? Well, you’re right. But in case you want to get a little hometown flavor on the first day of the draft, here are a few links to stories and columns from newspapers around the country . . . Feel free to add any I may have missed in the comments section below.

• Let’s start with The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell, who writes that the Nats’ selections of Ross Detweiler, Josh Smoker and Michael Burgess have Jim Bowden and company dreaming of playing in October—no, really. Not this October, of course, and probably not next year or the year after, but look out 2010.

• Our good friend Tracy Ringolsby writes that you should probably look to the later rounds to find stars in the draft. [...] Continue Reading »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.–The first day of the draft has concluded, and I’m one of three people still in the Milk House, other than the crew that’s breaking down the set.

I won’t be sleeping much tonight, as I try to sift through what was what during Day One, but the guys who are really restless are the dozen players that were ranked in our pre-draft top 100 prospects list that never heard their names called today. [...] Continue Reading »

The Braves have a well-earned reputation for taking high-ceiling athletes in the draft, and they made one of the most intriguing picks of the first day when they took an outfielder from the University of Oregon in the fifth round. [...] Continue Reading »

Sure, a trip to the College World Series would have been nicer, but at least Vanderbilt produced just the fifth set of college teammates to go in the top 10 of the draft this year. [...] Continue Reading »

With seven of the draft’s first 56 picks, the Blue Jays were positioned to supplement a farm system that had ranked in the bottom third of baseball in each of the last two seasons. And that was before Adam Lind lost his prospect eligibility early this season.

It looks like they have done just that. [...] Continue Reading »

Three Texas Christian players were drafted in rapid succession early in the fifth round. Catcher Andrew Walker went to the Pirates with the fourth pick in the round, and righthander Jake Arrieta was taken a pick later by the Orioles. Five picks after that, the Giants grabbed righthander Chance Corgan.

As a fifth-rounder, Arrieta could be the steal of the draft. [...] Continue Reading »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.–While picks are rolling off the tongue of Major League Scouting Bureau director Frank Marcos at a rapid pace, it’s still easy to do a quick review and see that the Diamondbacks have had among the first day’s most fruitful drafts. [...] Continue Reading »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.–There were not many fans of Texas Christian expecting Jake Arrieta’s catcher to be taken ahead of Arrieta. [...] Continue Reading »

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.–Virginia outfielder Brandon Guyer injured his non-throwing shoulder last weekend in the Cavaliers’ regional win at home.

Guyer was drafted in the fifth round by the Reds Cubs. He was enjoying a fine season when he was injured, and the injury did not cause him to slide in the draft, as he was pegged as a fifth- to seventh-round talent entering the draft.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.–After taking pitchers with their first six selections, the Mets made Richie Lucas their first position player drafted today when they scooped him up at No. 153 in the fourth round. [...] Continue Reading »

The third round was chock with college players who are slated to participate in this weekend’s super-regionals. Both starting shortstops in the Rice-Texas A&M series were taken in Brian Friday (98th overall, Pirates) and Brandon Hicks (108th, Braves). Toolsy Arizona State two-way threat Matt Spencer went to the Phillies with the 118th overall pick. The top two arms in Clemson’s bullpen came off the board in closer Stephen Clyne (Mets, 122nd) and setup man Alan Farina (Blue Jays, 114th). And North Carolina’s No. 3 starter, righthander Luke Putknonen, went to the Tigers with the 120th pick. All of those players can now breath easier and focus on the more immediate task at hand. [...] Continue Reading »