The 2009 Major League Baseball Draft is currently underway. The first round of the draft is in the books. Here are the first round results for the 2009 MLB Draft:

1) Washington Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg
2) Seattle Mariners: OF Dustin Ackley
3) San Diego Padres: OF Donovan Tate
4) Pittsburgh Pirates: C Tony Sanchez
5) Baltimore Orioles: RHP Matt Hobgood
6) San Francisco Giants: RHP Zack Wheeler
7) Atlanta Braves: LHP Mike Minor
8) Cincinnati Reds: RHP Mike Leake
9) Detroit Tigers: RHP Jacob Turner
10) Washington Nationals: RHP Drew Storen
11) Colorado Rockies: LHP Tyler Matzek
12) Kansas City Royals: RHP Aaron Crow
13) Oakland Athletics: SS Grant Green
14) Texas Rangers: LHP Matt Purke
15) Cleveland Indians: RHP Alex White
16) Arizona Diamondbacks: 3B Bobby Borchering
17) Arizona Diamondbacks: CF AJ Pollock
18) Florida Marlins: LHP Chad James
19) St) Louis Cardinals: RHP Shelby Miller
20) Toronto Blue Jays: RHP Chad Jenkins
21) Houston Astros: SS Jiovanni Mier
22) Minnesota Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson
23) Chicago White Sox: OF Jared Mitchell
24) Los Angeles Angels: LF Randal Grichuk
25) Los Angeles Angels: CF Mike Trout
26) Milwaukee Brewers: RHP Eric Arnett
27) Seattle Mariners: SS Nick Franklin
28) Boston Red Sox: CF Reymond Fuentes
29) New York Yankees: CF Slade Heathcott
30) Tampa Bay Rays: OF Levon Washington
31) Chicago Cubs: OF Brett Jackson
32) Colorado Rockies: OF Tim Wheeler

Dustin Ackley went second to the Seattle Mariners (Image: Zuma Press)

On June 9th, Major League Baseball will conduct its 2009 draft. The proceedings will start at 6 PM EST and will feature a number of very talented prospects.

Here is a look at the top ten picks in our 2009 MLB mock draft:

Stephen Strasburg - 2009 MLB Mock Draft (Image: Zuma Press)

1) Washington Nationals - Stephen Strasburg
This is a no-brainer first pick for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg is not only the best pitcher in this draft, he’s probably the best pitcher in any MLB draft of the last few decades. His statistics are off the charts and he has future superstar written all over him.

2) Seattle Mariners - Dustin Ackley
While there are a ton of quality pitchers in this draft, Dustin Ackley might be the only position player with a “can’t miss” label. He has a great swing and should become a very good first baseman.

3) San Diego Padres - Tanner Scheppers
For the last few years, Tanner Scheppers has been a top flight pitching prospect. However, last year an injury scare hurt his stock. Now that he’s healthy again, expect him to be a top five pick.

4) Pittsburgh Pirates - Tony Sanchez
The Pirates have been connected to Tony Sanchez and that’s not much of a surprise. They’ve had a difficult time finding a dependable catcher and Sanchez can solve that issue.

5) Baltimore Orioles - Tyler Matzek
Considered by many scouts to be the best left-handed pitcher in the 2009 MLB Draft, Tyler Matzek is a starting pitcher who can get up to about 95 on the gun. His impressive size should also help him grow into a very good pitcher down the line.

6) San Francisco Giants - Tim Wheeler
Out of Sacramento State, Tim Wheeler is a 6-foot-4 center fielder. He’s still a bit of a raw prospect but he has the tools to be a star.

7) Atlanta Braves - Aaron Crow
Aaron Crow is a well known prospect. Last season, the Nationals drafted him 9th — but Crow and the Nationals couldn’t agree on a contract. He didn’t do anything to hurt his stock and should once again be a top ten pick.

8) Cincinnati Reds - Alex White
Although Alex White needs a lot of work, the Reds could very well roll the dice on him. He needs to improve his confidence in his fastball but his off-speed pitchers are impressive for a player his age.

9) Detroit Tigers - Jacob Turner
When it comes to a throwing a fastball, Jacob Turner probably has the second best raw heat in the draft behind Stephen Strasburg. He can hit 98 miles per hour and given his age, he could even improve further.

10) Washington Nationals - Donovan Tate
Perhaps the best pure athlete in the draft, Donovan Tate is the son of Lars Tate, the former NFL running back. A center fielder, he has very good size, speed and a good arm. The only flaw in his game right now is a below average eye at the plate, however expect someone in the top to take a gamble on him.

Prior to the season, the New York Mets signed free agents starting pitcher Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract. The team hoped that Garcia could regain his form and eventually make his way back to the Majors. Those hopes are now a thing of the past after the Mets decided to release Garcia on Tuesday.

On Monday, Garcia sealed his fate with a poor pitching performance for Triple-A Buffalo. In five innings, he gave up seven hits and seven earned runs. That start gave him a record of 0-2 in the minor leagues with a 8.18 ERA.

Garcia had a lot of money on the line ($1.5 million to be exact) to make the Mets roster. But after getting pounded in the minors, it was clear the native of Venezuela wasn’t close to making the jump.

Breaking into Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound righty quickly became one of the best young pitchers in the league. As a rookie in 1999, he had a record of 17-8. His best season was in 2001 with the Mariners when he had a 18-6 record and a 3.05 ERA.

In 2006 with the Chicago White Sox, Garcia showed he still had some juice. He finished the year 17-9 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts. However, after signing with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2007 season, he has battled with injuries. Over the last two seasons, he has been able to make only 14 starts.

At 32, Garcia will likely be given another shot. However, if he doesn’t show improvement, his career could be over.

Hollywood better start getting ready with the movie. Indian pitching prospects Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh have both signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Patel and Singh both arose to fame due to the reality show in India called Million Dollar Arm. In the reality show, contestants from around India competed to see who would win $100,000. The winner would also get the chance to come to the United States and try out in front of MLB scouts.

After that MLB tryout, many scouts were intrigued by the pair of Indian pitchers — who both have less than a year of baseball experience. Apparently, the Pittsburgh scouts were the most intrigued.

Although Patel and Singh signed contracts, they still have to be considered longshots to make it to the big leagues. They will both go to the minor leagues and will try to prove their worth to the organization. If they can keep improving and learn the game, they could eventually find themselves moving up the ranks.

By that time, hopefully Hollywood is ready with the movie.

In the minor leagues, teams get creative to try to attract fans to the games. One way to get creative is to come up with unique ways the game ball can be delivered. The minor league team in this video thought it’d be cool if a skydiver delivered the ball. Watch the skydiver video to see how it goes horribly wrong.

Let’s just say a baseball fence, a skydiver and a crash were involved. Thankfully, reports indicate that the skydiver ended up being just fine.

Here is the skydiver video that was filmed at a minor league baseball game:

David Price has been called up by the Tampa Bay Rays and may start as soon as Saturday. Price, who is considered one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, has pitched increasingly well in the minor leagues this season.

Price first made his name as a stud pitcher at Vanderbilt University. Now, a short time later, Price will try to help the Rays make the playoffs.

In the AL East, the Rays are in a dog fight with the Boston Red Sox for the top spot. The Toronto Blue Jays are also making a charge up the standings, while the always dangerous New York Yankees continue to lurk.

If Price does make a start in the coming days, you can bet the eyes of baseball will all be focused on one of the game’s most exciting prospects.

Photo: Newscom

You can always count on minor league baseball to come up with a few classic plays each season. The video at the end of this entry is yet another example.

In the video, Fernando Perez fakes out the catcher and is able to score a run. After initially missing home plate, Perez gets up and puts on a juke to get past the catcher and to the plate. The catcher probably wasn’t feeling too happy after this was caught on camera for all the world to see.

Here is the Fernando Perez video where he faked out the catcher in a minor league game:

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Growing up, kids are usually applauded if they are good at a sport. For nine-year-old Jericho Scott, being good at baseball got him in trouble.

Scott, who is a pitcher, can throw 40 miles per hour at his young age and parents of the opposing teams think he is too good. Teams are forfeiting, the Little League management is asking Scott not to pitch and Scott’s own coach has reportedly been forced to resign.

Major League Baseball recently instituted instant replay. Let’s just hope that they don’t institute this rule. If CC Sabathia takes the mound for the Milwaukee Brewers, let’s just hope the opposition doesn’t forfeit. Let’s especially hope that Sabathia isn’t asked to take the field instead of pitch.

Watch this Jericho Scott video to hear more about this amazing story developing out of New Haven, Connecticut:

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David Price is one of the hottest names in the minor leagues. Property of the Tampa Bay Rays, Price is a top flight pitching prospect who may be called upon at some point in 2008. If not, expect Price to make a lot of noise during the 2009 baseball season.

The 23-year-old first became known for his pitching at Vanderbilt University. He was very good as a junior but became spectacular in his senior season. As a senior, Price had an 11-1 record to go with a 2.63 ERA and 194 strikouts in 133.1 innings.

This year in the minors, Price has also been very good. At Single-A and Double-A, Price was a combined 11-0. He’s currently at Triple-A and while he isn’t quite dominating, he has been very good. Most scouts agree that he is one of the top three best pitching prospects in all of the minor leagues.

Price’s money pitch is his slider, which usually comes in at about 87 MPH. His fastball can be anywhere from about 91 to as fast as 98. He struggles a bit spotting his pitches but once he masters his mechanics, expect the Rays to call him up.

Photo: Newscom

While the United States baseball team isn’t getting much publicity in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, this group of minor league players is going to try to bring back a gold medal for the USA. The USA Olympic baseball team is comprised of star minor leaguers who have gone to the Olympics and will compete against Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands.

Here is the Team USA baseball roster at the Beijing Olympic Games:

Pitcher - Brett Anderson
Pitcher - Jake Arrieta
Pitcher - Trevor Cahill
Pitcher - Jeremy Cummings
Pitcher - Brian Duensing
Pitcher - Kevin Jepsen
Pitcher - Brandon Knight
Pitcher - Mike Koplove
Pitcher - Blaine Neal
Pitcher - Jeff Stevens
Pitcher - Stephen Strasburg
Pitcher - Casey Weathers

Catcher - Louis Marson
Catcher - Taylor Teagarden

Infielder - Brian Barden
Infielder - Matthew Brown
Infielder - Jason Donald
Infielder - Mike Hessman
Infielder - Jayson Nix
Infielder - Terry Tiffee

Outfielder - Dexter Fowler
Outfielder - John Gall
Outfielder - Matthew LaPorta
Outfielder - Nate Schierholtz