UPDATE (7:15 PM): It is official. The Pirates have selected Jameson Taillon.
UPDATE (7:12 PM): As expected, the Nationals selected Bryce Harper first overall.
Jameson Taillon? It sure seems as if the high school flame-thrower from Texas will be the pick, although Miami high school shortstop Manny Machado is still in the picture. All reports have had the Bucs going with one of those two for a while now, with Taillon apparently jumping ahead of Machado over the past few days. I will be happy with either (or Bryce Harper, if the Nationals shock the world and pass on him). I prefer Machado slightly, simply because he is a position player, but Taillon probably represents more upside. Both are elite talents, so I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the arrival of new talent to the system.
The fun begins at 7 PM. You can follow the draft on the MLB Network and MLB.com. Below are some additional links for you.
Here are a couple of good Pirates draft previews:
WHYGAVS
BuccoFans.com
Here are four good places for Pirate-related discussion and updates:
Bucs Dugout
Only Bucs
BuccoFans.com
PBC Blog
Here are a few general draft chats:
Baseball Prospectus – Kevin Goldstein (begins at 6:30 PM)
FanHouse – Frankie Piliere
FanGraphs – Various Dudes (begins at 7 PM)
Minor League Ball – John Sickels
MLB Bonus Baby – Andy Seiler
Check Baseball America for an assortment of draft goodies.
Here is MLB.com’s draft page, as well as a draft tracker.
Finally, there are a ton of folks to follow on Twitter. Here are a few suggestions:
Matt Bandi
Pirates Twitter Directory (source: Raise The Jolly Roger)
Jim Callis – Baseball America
Kevin Goldstein – Baseball Prospectus
Keith Law – ESPN
Jonathan Mayo – MLB.com
John Sickels – Minor League Ball
MLBDraft
