2009 Major League Baseball Draft

First Round

1. Washington Natnals -  Stephen Strasburg (RHP)

2. Seattle Mariners – Dustin Ackley(1B/OF)

3. San Diego Padres – Donovan Tate (OF)

4. Pittsburg Pirates  - Tony Sanchez (C)

5. Baltimore Orioles – Matt Hobgood (RHP)

6. San Francisco Giants – Zack Wheeler (RHP)

7. Atlanta Braves – Mike Minor (LHP)

8. Cincinnati Reds – Mike Leake (RHP)

9. Detroit Tigers – Jacob Turner (RHP)

10. Washington Natnals – Drew Storen (RHP)

11. Colorado Rockies – Tyler Matzek (LHP) lots of A’s fans wanted him

12. Kansas City Royals  - Aaron Crow (RHP) likewise

13. Oakland Athletics – Grant Green (SS)

14. Texas Power Rangers – Matt Purke (LHP)

15. Cleveland Indians – Alex White (RHP)

16. Arizona Diamondbacks - Bobby Borchering (3B/1B)

17. Arizona Diamondbacks - AJ Pollock (CF)

18. Florida Marlins - Chad James (LHP)

19. Shelby Miller - St Louis Cardinals (RHP)

20. Toronot Blue Jays - Chad Jenkins (RHP)

So there you have it, the top twenty. There's another twelve picks to go in the first round, but I want to get this up, and it's only the Yanks and so forth. Frankly, who cares about them?

Now clearly, I’m no scout, and even if I were, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed star in the Major League Baseball draft. Hell, as good as Strasburg is (and he is clearly stupidly good), he could blow out an elbow next week and then it’s good night Vienna (Central European joke alert).That being said, here are my thoughts on the draft, mostly as it pertains to the A’s and the Giants:

• Someone was tweeting from the A’s draft room. It was AWESOME. I’m super happy that my team was the team to do this. Some examples: "Our Bay rivals select Zach Wheeler, the hardest thrower among a very good HS pitching class. We had him clocked up to 98 MPH"."ou never draft for need, but when the top guy on the board also fills a need, thats the best-case scenario, and hopefully the case w/ Green"
• I'm glad the A's didn't take Borchering. He won't stick at third, apparently. And I'm ok with them not picking Scheppers, either, what with his bum shoulder.
• Zach Wheeler had a pretty hilarious interview on mlb.com right after he was drafted. Sample quotation "I'm just ready to go out and play now, and be a Giant... I know they have some history of being good and everything". Nice
• Wheeler apparently has great upside. He's got a low to mid nineties fastball and a plus offspeed pitch. This continues the Giants' recent history of drafting high school pitchers with a highish risk / reward chance. It seems to be working for them, mind
• Bud Selig looks drunk. Or possibly like he's just woken from a nap. He started to say at one time that it was 1999? Plus, he never smiles.
• The mlb.com set looks like a cheap gameshow. Also, they used the phrase "He's a baseball player" to describe Grant Green. Go A's scouting!
• There is some risk for Green. His bat isn't a certainty to pick up, though he is good with the glove. It's definitely a position of need for the Athletics, mind.
• Tyler Maztek so nearly slipped to the A's. Would they have taken him? It's impossible to say, but he is apparently demanding a very large signing bonus. Good luck to the Rockies on that one, then. You can see why they've gone for him, though - the NL West is a real pitchers' division these days.