2009 MLB Draft – First Nine to Go?

Looking toward the future

Today, the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft will commence. Call it the MLB Draft or the 2009 MLB Draft for short. A lot of gambling goes on when teams attempt to pick the best players for their future (unlike instant loans to borrow money, which is a sure thing when your budget needs a short-term boost). If you’re looking for the most in-depth analysis, I suggest Baseball America and MLB.com. Here, I’m going to cover the projected top nine picks from one fantasy guy. Why nine? Come on, this is baseball. There are nine players to a side and nine innings in a game. Do try to keep up.

Still without any ado, the pickaroos

1. Washington Nationals- Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State: San Diego State Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn tells us what baseball people already know about this talented pitcher:  he could “immediately be the number one arm out of college for the Washington Nationals, and would fit nicely as the number three starter behind Chris Young and Jake Peavy in San Diego.” As a Padres fan, I’d certainly take him, but my San Diego charges won’t have the chance. They don’t even have enough to trade for him, unless they manage to convince Peavy to waive his no-trade clause and go there to lose for a few more years. Then again, the Nationals need a lot of help, so they could take a position player here. But I don’t see them passing on Strasburg’s 100-mph arm and uncanny command.
2. Seattle Mariners- Dustin Ackley, OF/1B, North Carolina- Here’s another team that needs help at every position, making the draft decisions a bit more complicated. Ackley is considered perhaps the best pure college hitter in this draft, and the Mariner’s current GM finds a place for these guys to play defensively.
3. San Diego Padres- Donovan Tate, OF Cartersville (Ga.) HS- Where do the Padres go with their pick? They have a lot of explaining to do to their fans, so they can’t whiff with a Matt Bush or Robbie Beckett-caliber pick. Tate is considered the best all around athlete coming out of high school, but he may be difficult to sign. He wants to be a two-sport star for North Carolina (QB in football, OF in baseball), and the Padres’ front office hasn’t exactly displayed a keen commitment to signing players to win.
4. Pittsburgh Pirates- Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats (Texas League)- Pittsburgh needs to rebuild their franchise from the mound up, so a pitcher like Crow could be a good pick. Since this draft is dominated by pitching (few offensive stars), a Major League-ready pitcher like Crow makes sense. As he has more experience than your standard high school of college pitcher, it is believed he may ask for more money, but the poise he brings to the hill has to be worth something for the pennant-starved Buckos.
5. Baltimore Orioles- Zach Wheeler, RHP, East Paulding HS, Georgia – Here’s a young man with great mechanics and a fluid delivery, both things that set scouts’ mouths watering. And he’s only a high school guy, so there’s even more room for improvement. But exactly how much of that this live 94-mph arm will need is debatable. Considering that GM Andy MacPhail knows what he wants in the draft, Wheeler should be a lock for the pitching-weak Orioles.



6. San Francisco Giants- Tim Wheeler, OF Sacramento State- Not related to Zach, Tim Wheeler is a local, homegrown talent who could do big things in the Bay Area while saving the Giants some of the big money teams will be spending in the arms race. He hit .385 with 18 homers this season and led the Cape Cod League in stolen bases.
7. Atlanta Braves- Tyler Matzek, Capistrano Valley HS, Mission Viejo, Ca.- The Braves would jump at the chance to go with local boy Zach Wheeler in this draft, but he probably won’t still be around to pick. Some naysayers think his arm could become an issue, but with his mechanics, what are they thinking? Matzek should still be around here. This lefty that could learn to work the corners like Tom Glavine and the Braves wouldn’t mind that at all. He is considered the best prep LHP in the draft.
8. Cincinnati Reds – Alex White, LHP North Carolina- North Carolina is producing some players lately. White has a good fastball, and secondary pitches, but his competitiveness is his trump card. Once he works out his control, he could see the Reds rotation soon.
9. Detroit Tigers- Tanner Scheppers, RHP Independent Ball- Not as a big a name, so the Tigers could sign him at a discount. Since they love Joel Zumaya so much, why not take another guy who can flirt with triple digits on the radar gun? Hopefully Scheppers doesn’t have Zumaya’s penchant for playing Guitar Hero, because nobody wants to see another promising young pitcher set back by a video game.

There you have it. Don’t take out instant loans to borrow money and bet on this, as the draft is far from an exact science. Just enjoy and hope your team chooses wisely. Save the loans for when you’re in a budget pinch.

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