The draft will unfold Monday through Wednesday. MLB Network will televise the first day beginning at 7 p.m.
Just 17, Bryce Harper left high school two years early in order to attend junior college in Nevada and become eligible for Monday's amateur draft. A catcher in high school, Harper is projected as a slugging outfielder who will likely be drafted No. 1 by the Washington Nationals.• Indians are unarmed as White Sox mount comeback for 8-7 victoryCLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the second consecutive year in the Major League Baseball draft, a "can't-miss" talent is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Washington Nationals.
The draft will unfold Monday through Wednesday. MLB Network will televise the first day beginning at 7 p.m.
The Indians own the fifth pick -- their highest since 1992, when they opted for North Carolina right-hander Paul Shuey at No. 2.
Last year, San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg was the top pick. Strasburg signed for a record $15.1 million and breezed through the minors this spring. It so happens that he will make his major-league debut one day before the anniversary of his selection, on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., against the Pirates.
Strasburg's second start, and first on the road, would be June 13 in Cleveland.
This year, catcher/outfielder Bryce Harper from the College of Southern Nevada is a virtual lock to go first. Harper, 17, has been called the LeBron James of baseball by Sports Illustrated.
Harper left Las Vegas High School after his sophomore season and received his GED last December in order to enroll at Southern Nevada, a junior college. The move enabled him to be eligible for the 2010 draft.
There are questions about Harper's makeup -- he was ejected from a JUCO World Series game Wednesday and can come off as hot-headed -- but the skill set trumps them. Harper, a left-handed hitter with power, has drawn comparisons to Twins catcher Joe Mauer. If Harper becomes half the major leaguer Mauer already is by age 27, the Nationals would be thrilled.
Harper's natural position is catcher, but his advisor, Scott Boras, has said he does not think it would make sense to play him there as a pro, presumably because of the potent bat. Harper also can play third base and right field.
A number of those who have studied this year's draft see two high schoolers, shortstop Manny Machado and right-hander Jameson Taillon, going second and third to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, respectively. Machado's advisor is Boras, but Pittsburgh General Manager Neal Huntington is said to have a good relationship with the hard-line agent.
Then the draft becomes anybody's guess. What baseball people do agree on is that 2010 will yield a below-average crop, particularly where college hitters are concerned. The high school mound is the best place to find talent.
Among the potential first-rounders is St. Edward High School right-hander Stetson Allie. As promising as the hard-throwing Allie is, No. 5 overall would be viewed as a bit of a reach.
Jim Callis, executive editor of Baseball America, is as knowledgeable about the MLB draft as Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay are about the NFL draft. In his mock first round June 4, Callis had the Indians selecting Texas-Arlington outfielder Michael Choice. Callis wrote that the Indians would like Florida Gulf Coast left-hander Chris Sale, but Callis projected Sale going No. 4 to Kansas City. The Indians also are expected to consider, assuming they are available: lefty Drew Pomeranz of Mississippi, third baseman Zack Cox of Arkansas and catcher Yasmani Grandal of Miami (Fla.).
The highly respected Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, in his mock first round Wednesday, had Sale going fourth to Kansas City and Grandal fifth to Cleveland. Mayo thinks Cox, Choice and Grandal would be in the mix for scouting director Brad Grant and his staff.
If the Indians take a college player with their first pick, it would mark the ninth straight year they have done so.
Who can blame the organization for being gun-shy about taking a prep player No. 1 based on what happened -- or didn't happen -- with the 2001 draft? The Indians used five of their first seven picks on schoolboy right-handers, including Dan Denham at No. 17 overall. One of the other two was a prep outfielder. None of those six made it to Cleveland.
Since 2001, the Tribe's top picks have left a lot to be desired. The list includes Jeremy Guthrie (2002), Michael Aubrey (2003), Jeremy Sowers (2004) and Trevor Crowe (2005). Guthrie is the best of that group, but he owns a sub-.500 career record, with most of his starts coming for Baltimore. David Huff, a sandwich pick (39th overall) in 2006, has shown flashes. He led the Tribe with 11 victories last season but they came with a 5.61 ERA.
It is too early to judge 2007 first-rounder Beau Mills, taken 13th overall. The reality is, though, that the 23-year-old first baseman has not met expectations. He was hitting .210 with three homers in 195 at-bats for Class AA Akron through Saturday. The previous year, he batted .267 with 14 homers in 134 games for the Aeros.
Making matters worse for Cleveland, at least for now: The player selected immediately after Mills was outfielder Jason Heyward, who is in the midst of a terrific rookie season for Atlanta.
Grant took charge of the draft the following year and signed off on infielder Lonnie Chisenhall at No. 29. In 2009, the Indians picked right-hander Alex White at No. 15.
Chisenhall and White, both 21, are teammates at Akron. That they are playing in the rugged Eastern League at such a young age is impressive, and scouts like their ceilings. But each has plenty of work to do before Cleveland can begin to think its first-round fortunes are changing.
Since 1991, the Tribe first-rounder with the most at-bats in the majors is Manny Ramirez. That Crowe owns the second-highest speaks to how poorly the Indians have performed at the outset of the drafts. Remember Corey Smith (2000), Danny Peoples (1996) and David Miller (1995)? They were three of the busts in that span.
The Indians' draft whiffs in recent years extend beyond the first round. Small-to-mid-market teams must make the draft work for them given that premium free agents are tough gets, but the Indians have not drafted and signed a player in any round who has made an All-Star team since CC Sabathia in 1998.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have used the draft to form the core of a club that owns five Central Division titles since 2002 and leads the division this year.
Sabathia leads all Indians first-round picks in career major-league victories; he had 141 entering Friday. Only Charles Nagy and Greg Swindell also have 100-plus.