2009 MLB Draft: Picks 1-5
For Picks 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-26 and 27-32 click on the links.
6:00pm Welcome to the 2009 MLB Draft! We'll be constantly updating the draft in groups of five throughout the night tonight. Our first post will start with the Top 10 and we'll go from there.
6:11pm Alright, the Nationals are officially on the clock! Thanks Bud Selig!
6:12pm Interesting point about not signing Stephen Strasburg, if the Nationals do select him - they'd have the #2 pick in the 2010 draft.
6:15pm No surprise here, the Washington Nationals have selected Stephen Strasburg with the first pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. The Mariners are now on the clock.
6:17pm The big question now is less if the Nationals can sign Strasburg, but more how much they sign him for. I can't imagine that the Nationals would let Strasburg get away, especially after the Aaron Crow mess last year.
6:20pm With the second pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners select Dustin Ackley from UNC. The Padres are now on the clock.
6:22pm Ok, the formalities of drafting Strasburg and Ackley are over. Now the fun begins. Do the Padres take Donovan Tate? Perhaps a pitcher like Zach Wheeler or Tyler Matzek? We're also going to check in with Paul DePodesta's blog after the Padres pick for some commentary.
6:24pm With the third pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the Padres select Donovan Tate. The Pittsburgh Pirates are now on the clock.
6:26pm Despite rampant speculation throughout the past few months about who would go to the Padres with the third pick, the experts sniffed out this pick. Well done. The Pirates are expected to take Tony Sanchez next. Keith Law reported they had agreed to a pre-draft deal.
6:30pm With the fourth pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates select Tony Sanchez. Selig threw everyone there for a second by calling him by his given name, Jorge Sanchez. The Orioles are now on the clock.
6:31pm Recent buzz about the Orioles pick has them taking Zach Wheeler here. The Braves would be quite disappointed as he's a Georgia native.
6:32pm Interesting point by Harold Reyonlds about Ackley being a cold weather player who perhaps hasn't come close to peaking yet.
6:34pm With the fifth pick of the 2009 MLB Draft, the Baltimore Orioles select Matt Hobgood. The Giants are now on the clock.
6:35pm Our first curveball of the draft. Certainly Hobgood is qualified enough to go fifth, but most experts had Wheeler in this spot. This will have an interesting effect on picks six through ten because the Braves may get their man, Wheeler, now.
6:37pm Jim Callis of Baseball America points out that the recent contract demand rumors from the high school kids may have influenced the Hobgood pick by the Orioles. It'll be interesting to see if it continues.
