BA - Mock

1. NATIONALS (Conor). Well, this is a no-brainer. He was the wire-to-wire favorite and obviously I'm going with JC of Southern Nevada catcher Bryce Harper here. Having the No. 1 overall pick is obviously bittersweet, especially in back-to-back drafts, but the Nationals picked two good years to do it, getting Stephen Strasburg and now Harper. Despite hitting 31 homers, mostly with wood bats, while essentially a high school junior, Harper isn't without his questions. The biggest thing I would worry about aren't the mechanical flaws with Harper's swing or throwing mechanics behind the plate—both of which are correctable—but how he'll deal with the spotlight and how he'll handle failure. He was shielded from the media this year, and at some point he's going to have to deal with media and fan attention. Harper won't come cheaply, but Washington general manager Mike Rizzo has a long track record of choosing the best player available and working with Scott Boras.

2. PIRATES (Jim). I'm with Conor. I don't see how the Nationals could pass on his power and I don't think they will. With the No. 2 pick, I'm looking at the same two players the Pirates are zeroing in on: Texas high school righthander Jameson Taillon and Florida prep shortstop Manny Machado. Neither will come cheap, and certainly not as cheap as Tony Sanchez did as the No. 4 choice a year ago, but Pittsburgh has to take the best available talent. For me, that's Jameson Taillon. He's easily the best pitcher in this draft, and I'm not hung up on the risks that come with a high school arm. He can be the true No. 1 starter the Pirates haven't had in years. Picking Machado would also be a legitimate move—I like potential five-tool shortstops, too—but I'd rather have Taillon.

3. ORIOLES (John). To borrow a phrase from Dayton Moore, Orioles fans have to trust the process. It's taking longer than it seems like it should, but Baltimore is rebuilding and has strong pieces up the middle in Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. Adding Manny Machado with this pick would make too much sense. The organization has a giant hole at shortstop, though Machado isn't a need pick—he's the best player on the board. There's an argument to be made for Mississippi lefthander Drew Pomeranz, who could move quickly and be an effective complement to Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Co. But Baltimore's inability to develop a shortstop, combined with Machado's defensive tools and power potential, make him the best choice here.

4. ROYALS (Conor). The top three players are pretty defined, and it's actually not a great year to have the No. 4 pick, in my opinion. Royals fans should hope that either Taillon or Machado drops for some reason because I don't think there's a whole lot of difference in value between the fourth pick and the 20th. That's no disrespect to Mississippi lefthander Drew Pomeranz, whom I'm selecting here. It's not a great year for lefthanded pitching and I went with Pomeranz over Florida Gulf Coast lefty Chris Sale because he has a better breaking ball and a more durable frame.

5. INDIANS (Jim). It seems like the two potential top-10 picks I'm defending most to inquiring fans are Chris Sale and Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox. In fact, I'm getting to the point where I'd take Sale over Pomeranz, so I'm happy to call Chris Sale as the pick here. I'm not so sure Sale won't be more durable despite his skinny 6-foot-6, 172-pound frame. He has held up better this spring, and Pomeranz has been worked much harder in college. Because they're both lefthanded starters and not left-on-left relievers, I'd rather have the guy with the superior changeup, and that's Sale. He has a low arm slot but he's not a soft-tossing groundball specialist. Instead he throws in the low 90s with a lot of life. Sale has better control than Pomeranz, too. So far, our first five choices are tracking exactly how I expect them to unfold on Monday (though there's plenty of time for shuffling before then).

6. DIAMONDBACKS (John). No surprises yet for me either, and the sixth pick is set up for Arizona to take Georgia Tech righthander Deck McGuire, the safest pick on the board. But I'm going to zig and take North Carolina righthander Matt Harvey instead. McGuire is much more likely to be a starter, but with the No. 6 choice, I'm hoping for more upside than a pitchability guy. I'd go with Harvey, whose fastball and slider earned 70 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale at times this year. He also has a curveball, good body and a long track record of being in the draft spotlight, and he has responded well this year. His ceiling is higher than McGuire's, and if he winds up in the bullpen, he could dominate with that two-pitch mix.

7. METS (Conor). Well then I'm going to zag and go with Florida high school righthander Karsten Whitson. Whitson looked fantastic in the Florida high school all-star showcase in Sebring last week, sitting at 93-94 mph with his fastball and touching 96. He mixed in a filthy slider that he threw for strikes and solidified his place as the second-best high school pitcher in this year's class, especially with the recent slides of A.J. Cole, Dylan Covey and Kevin Gausman. Like Harvey, Whitson is a riskier pick but has more star potential than other picks I considered like McGuire or Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal.

for the rest.... http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/draft-preview/2010/2610118.html