USA Today has the full list of ‘07 draftees in the major-league phase (there’s also a minor-league phase, but seriously, it’s barely worth mentioning). Chris Constancio at Hardball Times [full disclosure: I contribute to THT] offers his thoughts on the draft.

The vast majority of these guys won’t pan out, but maybe one or two will. Hey, it’s something to do in the off-season…

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Read the full article for all the details, but here are Silver’s projected top pitchers for 2008-2013. See if you can figure out which one doesn’t belong:

1. Johan Santana, Min
2. Jake Peavy, SD
3. C.C. Sabathia, Cle
4. Erik Bedard, Bal
5. Joba Chamberlain, NYA

Hint: His last last name is the same as that of a former British prime minister.

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We’ve talked about the AL Cy Young here and here, but I’m thinking maybe it’s time for a poll? After all, we are having so much fun with the NL (write-in candidate Jimmy Rollins has overtaken Matt Holliday and David Wright) and AL MVP award polls.

My preseason pick? I went with the pack and chose Johan Santana. Right now, I’d say that if one of the guys from Cleveland (C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona) doesn’t win it, there’s a problem. But I could be wrong.

What do you think? Feel free to leave comments supporting your choice if you’re so inclined…

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American League

• Mariners at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — Good thing folks in Seattle like coffee; this one’s kicking off good and early. The Mariners start the day two games back of New York in the AL wild card race. Felix Hernandez gets the start against a man twice his age, Roger Clemens. Hernandez was born three days before Clemens’ 37th big-league start. Interestingly, their age 21 seasons are kind of similar. Both got hit harder than you might expect for guys with such good stuff and both exhibited surprisingly good control.
• Indians at Twins, 11:10 a.m. PT — C.C. Sabathia vs Johan Santana. The Twins really need to move to the NL Central. Anyway, the last time these two pitchers hooked up, way back on August 29, Sabathia and the Indians came out on top, 4-3.

National League

• Mets at Reds, 10:15 a.m. PT — Pedro Martinez makes his 2007 debut for New York. Aaron Harang, meanwhile, continues to defy the odds by going 14-3 for a team that is 62-75. How does Brandon Phillips have 26 home runs this year? No, it’s not the park; he’s got 13 each at home and away. Weird.
• Padres at Diamondbacks, 1:40 p.m. PT — Two teams in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West with less than a month to go… A pitcher with 343 big-league victories under his belt… A decision made by some genius that this game shouldn’t be televised in San Diego…

One game? San Diego/Arizona if you can swing it; otherwise Cleveland/Minnesota. Happy watching!

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American League

• Angels at Mariners, 1:35 p.m. PT — Division rivals, great pitching matchup (Jered Weaver vs Felix Hernandez). Most days this would be a no-brainer as the game to watch, but there are several good ones today.
• Red Sox at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — Josh Beckett goes up against Roger Clemens. Advice to hitters: look for the fastball. The AL East is slipping away from the Yankees, as they are now 8 games back with 31 remaining. They’re only 2 behind Seattle in the wild card.
• Twins at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Minnesota is hanging in the NL Central race, albeit just barely. They’re 6 1/2 back of Cleveland and 4 back of Detroit. This is a dream pitching matchup: Johan Santana vs C.C. Sabathia. Santana is becoming one of those guys who are trapped by their own success. “Wow, he’s only 14-9 with a 2.97 ERA? What’s wrong with him?” What’s wrong is that he’s better than everyone else, that’s all. Anyway, Sabathia is enjoying a fine season as well. What blows me away about his game is how dramatically he’s improved his control since coming into the league. As a 20-year-old rookie back in 2001, Sabathia walked 4.74 batters per 9 innings. This year he’s at 1.32. Sure, he’s more hittable, but he’s also a lot more efficient (4.10 P/PA in ‘01 compared with 3.65 in ‘07), which allows him to go deeper into games (about 7 innings per start now vs just over 5 1/3 back then).

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT — Don’t look now, but Philadelphia is only 5 games out of first place in the NL East. Could you find two more different left-handers than Oliver Perez and Jamie Moyer? Well, maybe Cloris Leachman and Paul McCartney, but we’re talking about pitchers here.
• Brewers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m. PT — Another fun matchup: Ben Sheets and Carlos Zambrano. Too bad Milwaukee is 16-26 since the All-Star break. The Brewers are in serious danger of being overtaken by the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the NL Central. How very disappointing.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — After taking the first two games, San Diego is now in a position to recapture a share of first place with a victory on Wednesday. Slugger Micah Owings gets the start for Arizona, while the Padres counter with the venerable Greg Maddux.

Time for just one? You know my bias, but that Santana/Sabathia matchup has the potential to be brilliant. If I had no other attachments to any of the teams, that is the one I’d watch.

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American League

• Twins at Mariners, 7:05 p.m. PT — Johan Santana? Felix Hernandez? One potential sticking point for Seattle is that lefties are hitting Hernandez pretty hard (.303/.368/.530) this year; that could be a problem against a team that features two potent left-handed bats in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Seems to me maybe Hernandez could use an off-speed pitch. Who better to watch than Santana?

National League

• Astros at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. PT — Yeah, only minor playoff implications here, but your other option is to watch the Giants and Pirates. Potentially good pitching matchup here. Roy Oswalt is enjoying another brilliant season, although he’s not faring well (5.52 ERA, .300/.361/.482) away from home this year. Actually, Oswalt’s ERA has been higher on the road every season since he arrived in the big leagues back in 2001, although usually the split has been less pronounced than it is this year. On the other side, youngster Chad Billingsley attempts to stop the bleeding for the fourth-place Dodgers, who are 11-17 since the All-Star break and who have been shut out 4 times in 11 August games.

Happy Monday, folks. Play ball!

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American League

• Red Sox at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT — Not that the Red Sox need my help in the hype department, but a battle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Erik Bedard could be a lot of fun to watch. Bedard has emerged in a big way this season. He’s fourth in the American League in ERA, first in H/9, first in K/9 (11.20!), and first in strikeouts. With all due respect to perennial favorite Johan Santana, Bedard and Oakland’s Dan Haren have to be the front-runners for this year’s Cy Young Award. Of course, we’ve still got plenty of baseball yet to play…
• Yankees at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Two playoff contenders, two up-and-coming young pitchers; what’s not to like? Philip Hughes got knocked around by the Royals last week in his return from an extended stint on the DL. Fausto Carmona, meanwhile, has been one of the bigger surprises in the AL. His low strikeout rate suggests perhaps another Jake Westbrook, so who knows how long this level of success will last. Still, might as well enjoy it. Cleveland has some terrific hitters; the Indians are getting nothing out of second base or right field, but guys like Victor Martinez, Ryan Garko, Grady Sizemore, and Travis Hafner create serious problems for the opposition.
• Twins at Angels, 7:05 pm. PT — I forgot Kelvim Escobar. He could make a run for the Cy Young Award, too. There are a lot of worthy candidates this year. The Twins need to move over to the NL Central. What are they going to do without Torii Hunter next season?

National League

• Braves at Phillies, 4:35 p.m. PT — Speaking of Cy Young, he’s not there yet, but Cole Hamels will be a serious candidate possibly as early as next year. Chuck James is no slouch himself, although he’s up against a ridiculously deep lineup. Do folks in Philadelphia really think Pat Burrell stinks?
• Cubs at Rockies, 6:05 p.m. PT — Meaningful games at Coors Field in August — what’s up with that? The Cubs and Rockies have identical records (59-55) headed into this one, although the Rox play in a much tougher division. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Cubs had an Opening Day payroll of just under $100 million, while the Rockies check in at about $54 million. Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday are young studs, and Todd Helton has done a nice job reinventing himself as a productive hitter despite the power outage; the pitching staff, meanwhile, owns a 4.46 ERA (including 4.58 at home) as of this writing. Someone deserves a medal for that.

Got time for just one? Toss-up between Orioles/Red Sox and Braves/Phillies. The former offers a slightly better pitching matchup, while the latter has more far-reaching playoff implications.

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American League

• Tigers at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m. PT – Jeremy Bonderman and Roy Halladay? Hello! These two faced each other on Opening Day in Detroit. The Blue Jays won that game, with neither starter figuring in the decision. Also, what’s up with Toronto’s offense? The Jays are hitting .304/.371/.492 as a team. Pretty much everyone except Lyle Overbay and Reed Johnson is contributing. Aaron Hill? I know it’s only nine games, but still…
• Devil Rays at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT – Scott Kazmir battles Johan Santana in this one. After years of mismanagement (Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker — great idea there), Tampa Bay is starting to assemble some serious young talent. No, they still don’t have any pitching beyond Kazmir, but Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes, B.J. Upton, and Delmon Young makes for a nice (and potentially volatile) offensive core. This could be a team worth following over the next several years.
• Yankees at A’s, 7:05 p.m. PT – Do you suppose it eats at George Steinbrenner that Kei Igawa hasn’t gotten off to the start that Daisuke Matsuzaka has in Boston? Yeah, I’m thinking it probably does. Igawa faces Dan Haren in Oakland. The A’s right now are sort of the anti-Blue Jays. They’re hitting like a utility infielder (.239/.306/.326). The only guy doing anything is Mike “I’m Still Not Washed Up Yet, So Stop Writing Me Off” Piazza. As for the Yankees, they get enough coverage elsewhere so I won’t talk about them.

National League

• Reds at Cubs, 11:20 a.m. PT – This game probably will keep me from doing my taxes today (yeah, I know I should’ve done them a long time ago). Aaron Harang faces Carlos Zambrano in the Friendly Confines. Bummer about the Cubs’ 3-5 start. Gotta believe their fans were hoping for more after that winter shopping spree. Fortunately for the Tribune Company, which is trying to sell the club, on-field performance doesn’t seem to affect the franchise’s value. Fans, it appears, will put up with pretty much anything after all these years. Meanwhile, Zambrano is walking guys and serving up home runs. That’s not a good combination.
• Astros at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT – Roy Oswalt squares off against Brett Myers. Holy smokes, Jimmy Rollins already has five home runs? That’s nuts. Pat Burrell is hitting .323/.462/.484 in the early going. Are they still booing him in Philly? On the other side, Oswalt was my pre-season pick for NL Cy Young. I made that prediction under the assumption that someone other than Adam Everett and Luke Scott would be leading the offensive charge. Yikes, how is this team even scoring three runs a game right now?
• Brewers at Cardinals, 5:10 p.m. PT – The focus is on Ben Sheets, as well it should be, but Anthony Reyes is no slouch himself. This has the potential to be a fantastic matchup. Plus you get to watch that insane collection of young talent that is the Brewers. Rickie Weeks (.242/.375/.606) is off to a terrific start and hasn’t even committed an error in 77 innings (he averaged one every 36 innings last season).

There you have it. Play ball!

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American League

• Blue Jays at Devil Rays, 10:40 a.m. PT – Roy Halladay and Scott Kazmir would be instant Cy Young Award candidates in a league that didn’t feature Johan Santana. Tampa Bay has some unbelievably talented young player — Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes, B.J. Upton. If these guys can get any kind of pitching, they’ve got a chance to go somewhere. Like, um, fourth place in the AL East.
• Twins at White Sox, 11:05 a.m. PT – Division rivals. Santana gets the start for Minnesota. John Danks, a top pitching prospect who came over from Texas in the off-season, goes for the White Sox.

National League

• Rockies at Padres, 1:05 p.m. PT – Ground ball specialist Aaron Cook starts for the Rockies, while Jake Peavy gets the call for the home team. Peavy pitched well his first time out against the Giants, though he still wasn’t terribly efficient. We’ll see if he can keep his pitch totals a little lower today.

There you go. Happy Easter, everyone, and enjoy the games!

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Some impressive homers on Opening Day. Adam Dunn knocked a couple of serious bombs for Cincy, as did Edgar Renteria for the Braves.

Ah, baseball…

[Update: The Orioles have knocked three doubles in the fourth off Santana to take a 3-2 lead. The home crowd got real quiet.]

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