Top News:
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Red Sox, Dice-K handle Indians, 4-1 — Game over: Red Sox 4, Indians 1 — Matsuzaka went eight innings before Bard pitched the ninth and allowed a homer by Kearns. — Draft update: Vitek has agreed to a contract — Just spoke to Kolbrin Vitek, who visited the Red Sox over the weekend …
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Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Mock First Round Update — My latest projections for the first round of tonight's draft: — 1. Nationals. Bryce Harper, c, JC of Southern Nevada — 2. Pirates. Jameson Taillon, rhp, The Woodlands (Texas) HS — 3. Orioles. Manny Machado, ss, Brito Miami Private HS — 4. Royals.
Discussion:
JSOnline
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Red Sox tab Vitek with first pick in Draft — CLEVELAND — The Red Sox went for an intriguing bat with the 20th overall pick in Monday night's First-Year Player Draft, grabbing Ball State second baseman Kolbrin Vitek. — While Vitek is widely regarded for his offense, it is unclear if second base will be the position he winds up at.
Ben Goessling / MASNsports.com:
Nationals make Harper the No. 1 pick - The Goessling Game — 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 …
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Roch Kubatko / Baseball America:
Orioles Stray From Pitching-First Plan With Machado
Discussion:
Camden Chat
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 …
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Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Angels are feeling chipper about their top draft pick — Angels use the first of their three first-round selections, No. 18 overall, on Kaleb Cowart, a highly regarded third baseman/pitcher who says he patterns his game after Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones.
Discussion:
Halos Heaven
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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John Manuel / Baseball America:
Biggest Shocker So Far: Hayden Simpson to Chicago Cubs — We were on Hayden Simpson in the preseason. But no one was on him at No. 17 overall. — Simpson, our No. 191 prospect on our Top 200, was our preseason Division II pitcher of the year, and he was the pitcher of the year at Division II.
John Manuel / Baseball America:
Yankees End First Round With Stunner, Cito Culver — Once again, this wasn't a consensus first-rounder. Need more proof? Cito Culver ranked No. 168 on our board, but Culver had athleticism, plus tools to play shortstop and good infield actions, and the Yankees popped him at No. 32.
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.
Jim Armstrong / Denver Post:
Hammel delivers another strong start in Rockies' win — One of these weeks, Jorge De La Rosa figures to return from the disabled list, at which point the Rockies would have to drop a pitcher from their starting rotation. — Obviously, that's a call to Jim Tracy's office that Jason Hammel doesn't want to get.
Discussion:
Purple Row
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
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.
