MLB Draft

The MLB Draft is just a day away and for the Jays, the anticipation is palpable.

After suffering through almost an entire decade of J.P.

The 2010 MLB Draft is just days away. Come Monday night, a new generation of players will see their names called and their journeys to their career ambitions begin.

A year ago, it was then-collegiate pitcher Stephen Strasburg who rocked the draft. This year, it is a position player named Bryce Harper that is gaining all the attention leading up to Monday night's first round.

The MLB Draft is a 50-round affair with players drafted from places you've never heard of.

If there is one thing that the 2010 season has shown the city of Baltimore, it is that the rebuilding process is far from over.

The Orioles need help in just about every facet of the game and since they can't dump money on veterans like the Red Sox or Yankees, the draft is where they can add talent.

While baseball prospects take a few years to grow (this is why the minors are called 'farm systems'), the products can be just as effective.

Just look at the Tampa Bay Rays and all they accomplish.

"With the first pick in the draft, the Washington Nationals select Bryce Harper." It is one of the few phrases I will be shocked to not hear on June 7th.

By most measures, Bryce Harper is the pick of the 2010 draft class. He is a multi-tool offensive player that is also believed to be able to play several positions. There is a chance the Pittsburgh Pirates will be able to draft him. There is a larger chance that they won't.

Based on their 2009 records, the Pirates have the second overall draft pick in 2010, with the Washington Nationals coming in first. Washington is believed to prefer Harper, just as it selected Steve Strasburg with last year's first pick.

If you’ve heard about Stephen Strasburg , chances are you’ve heard about Bryce Harper too.  There could be a lot of similarities between the two—or there could be none other than the hype they’ve both received long before draft time.

Projected as the consensus first-overall draft pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft, here’s what you need to know about Harper before we get to June.

According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN, Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria has been “unblocked” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and is now free to sign with any major league team.

The consensus right now is that the 19-year-old could earn as much as $10 million, which would be more than the $8.2 million the Red Sox recently paid Jose Iglesias this winter.

Shelley Duncan has seen brief success when he has played for The New York Yankees from 2007 to 2009.  It is a completely different story when he gets full time play with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the 27 time World Champs.

Duncan lead the International League in home runs (30) RBI (99), runs and extra base hits, thus being honored by the Topps Company of New York, as their Player of the Year.

As much as I love the Washington Nationals, I think it’s fair to say that they haven’t done much right since moving to D.C. five seasons ago.  Too many of the team’s personnel decisions have backfired, leading to several very long, very ugly, very bad years.

One of Jim Bowden’s first moves was to trade a part-time outfielder and a poor-hitting shortstop to the Angels for the volatile Jose Guillen.  At the time, it seemed like a steal.

And it was, but not for the Nationals.

The Washington Nationals are 19 games away from securing the top pick in baseball’s amateur draft for the second straight season.

You can decide if congratulations or condolences are in order.