Top News:
Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:
National Draft Harper, but Not as a Catcher — SECAUCUS, N. J. — The Major League Baseball draft is beginning to follow a script, and not just because it is now televised in prime time. — The Washington Nationals picked first Monday for the second consecutive year.
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Ben Goessling / The Goessling Game:
Nationals make Harper the No. 1 pick — On Monday night, the Nationals officially did what they've been expected to do for the better part of a year, making 17-year-old Bryce Harper the No. 1 pick in the First-Year Player Draft. — Harper, who obtained a GED and enrolled at the College …
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Nationals pick Bryce Harper — The Nationals have selected catcher/outfielder Bryce Harper, a 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy, with the first overall choice in baseball's first-year player draft. Nationals executives, sitting around a table, watched Commissioner Bud Selig announce the pick on television.
Associated Press:
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Jerry Stephenson dies — ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jerry Stephenson, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the 1967 World Series, has died. He was 66. — Family spokesman Steve Brener said Monday that Stephenson died Sunday at his home in Anaheim of cancer.
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Alex Speier / Full Count:
Red Sox use first-round pick on Kolbrin Vitek — With their first-round draft pick, the Red Sox selected second baseman/outfielder Kolbrin Vitek out of Ball State University. Vitek hit .361 with 17 homers and 16 steals en route to winning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year honors.
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Mock Draft: Draft Day — Version 4.0 still finds little to be certain of — It's the morning of the draft, and we don't know for certain anything more than we knew heading into the weekend. JC of Southern Nevada catcher Bryce Harper will go No. 1 overall to the Nationals.
Discussion:
Hardball Times, Fanhouse MLB Blog, Minor League Ball, Purple Row, ESPN and Seven Train to Shea Mets Blog
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Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Final Mock Draft: Mock Away — 1. Washington Nationals: Move along, nothing to see here. — Pick: Bryce Harper, C/OF, College of Southern Nevada — 2. Pittsburgh Pirates: The needle seems to have move a bit towards James Taillon over Manny Machado. The Pirates think Taillon is the better talent …
JSOnline:
Brewers release Suppan — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — No longer willing to carry Jeff Suppan on their pitching staff merely on the basis of his salary, the Brewers finally decided to part ways with the veteran right-hander by releasing him Monday.
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Keith Law / MLB:
2010 MLB mock draft: The final mock draft — The final mock draft is predictable at No. 1, but deviates greatly from there
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Fox Sports:
Diamondbacks have problems everywhere — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter. — “Organizational advocacy” isn't working out so hot for the Diamondbacks.
Associated Press:
Carlos Silva goes to 8-0 as Cubs finally beat Pirates — PITTSBURGH— Carlos Silva extended the best start by a Cubs pitcher in 43 years by allowing one run over seven innings, Ryan Theriot scored four times and Chicago beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Monday.
Jim Armstrong / Denver Post:
End of slump in sight, Rockies' Helton to wear contact lenses — Give Todd Helton this: He's being proactive as he fights off the worst slump of his career. — Helton, hitting .250 with one home run and 10 RBIs, returned to Denver on Sunday night from the Rockies' road trip to San Francisco and Arizona.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
MLB:
Sources: Pittsburgh Pirates set sights on prep RHP Jameson Taillon … The Pittsburgh Pirates are targeting high school pitcher Jameson Taillon with the second pick in Monday night's Major League Baseball entry draft, sources have told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.
