If you missed the excitement that was the first round of the MLB draft yesterday on ESPN2, here is a recap. This draft was considered a not very top-heavy draft, but take that with a grain of salt. [[link|url=http://wvbr.com/?id=82&page=sportsblog]]2001[[end-link]] was considered a fantastic draft at the time, and it turned out mediocre, and 2004 was considered a bad draft, but it also turned out to be average. 1. Tamba Bay ñ SS Tim Beckham, Griffin (GA.) H.S. - For a team with no real weaknesses in the minors, Beckham was an excellent pick. This kid is the real deal, and it looks like he will stay at shortstop. Will he be as good as another Tampa pick back in 2002, Bossman Upton? NoÖbut not many players are. For a team that has had one of the worst franchise starts, it sure has a stockpile of great athletes. ETA: 2011 2. Pittsburgh ñ 3b Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbuilt ñ Although Alvarez struggled this past season, he kind of reminds me of Mark Teixeira in 2001. Like Teixeira, he was the consensus number one pick heading into this year, but an injury has really caused a lot of doubt from scouts. Alvarez will be the best hitter in this draft, but Pittsburgh needs a lot more than one hitter to save its franchise. Itís a good start and a good sign to show the Bucs are willing to spend money (which they did not on their first pick last year). ETA: 2009 3. Kansas City ñ 1b Eric Hosmer, AH (Fla.) HS ñ Many scouts considered Hosmer to have the best power in the draft. Kansas City has drafted two highly ranked high schoolers in the past couple seasons to show Dayton Moore is not afraid. It may take a few years before Hosmer lives up to the billing. First baseman Josh Vitters has struggled mightily sinced being drafted number 3 last year. ETA: 2012 4. Baltimore ñ LHP Brian Matusz, San Diego ñ Matusz was considered a great prospect last year, after finishing second in the country in strikeouts only behind David Price. The Orioles expect him to be the replacement for Eric Bedard, and he should be among the first players drafted to reach the majors. ETA: 2009 5. San Francisco Giants ñ C Buster Posey, Florida State ñ If you have not seen this kid, start watching the College World Series. He is extremely athletic for a catcher and he only started catching recently. This adds a few more years of wear and tear that has ruined so many catching prospects throughout the years. ETA: 2011 6. Florida Marlins ñ C Kyle Skipworth, Patriot (Ca.) HS ñ Skipworth was a bit of an overdraft here, but not a terrible pick. He could become a great hitter, which allows some flexibility in his position. The Marlins broke the heart of a lot of teams by choosing Skipworth. ETA: 2013 7. Cincinatti ñ 1b Yonder Alonso, Miami ñ This was the first huge surprise of the day. Alonso will be a good hitter, but the Reds have young Joey Votto already at first. Taking Gordon Beckham or Aaron Crow would have made more sense. Also, if the Reds wanted a first baseman, Justin Smoak was probably a better pick. ETA: 2011 8. Chicago (AL) ñ SS Gordan Beckham, Georgia ñ The White Sox are ecstatic about this pick. Beckham has the chance to be a quality shortstop, or at the very least, a very good second baseman. The one thing that worries me is the lack of athleticism. Beckham is probably the hardest working player in the draft, but playing such a demanding position without an unbelievable amount of athleticism could hurt his chances. ETA: 2011 9. Washington ñ RHP Aaron Crow, Missouri - The Nationals continue its second consecutive year with another good draft. Crow has the best fastball among starting pitchers, and until about a month ago, was the best pitcher in this draft. He has struggled of late, but his 96 mph fastball was too much for the Nats to pass up. ETA: 2010 10. Houston ñ C Jason Castro, Stanford ñ Houston was hoping for Skipworth to fall. Unfortunately (especially for Mets fans), the ëStros decided on Jason Castro, who was not expected to go until later in the draft. The Astros have a good young catcher in JR Towles, and the team has already failed to develop former first round catcher Max Sapp. This makes me scratch my head. ETA: 2011 11. Texas ñ 1b Justin Smoak, South Carolina ñ In February, the big debate was who would be the first pick, Alvarez or Smoak. Smoak continued to have a good, but not stellar year for SC. Texas is still extremely happy to see him fall down this far in the draft. ETA: 2010 12. Oakland ñ 2b Jemile Weeks, Miami ñ This is another huge surprise. Weeks is by no means a bad player, but you usually expect to use the number 12 pick on someone with a little more potential. Many scouts have said Weeks could be .280 batter with 15 homeruns, which is nice, but not at number 12. I have also heard super utility in his future. ETA: 2011 13. St. Louis ñ 3b Brett Wallace, Arizona St. ñ The Cardinals got a steal right here. Weight concerns caused Wallaceís stock to plummet, but as a Sophomore, he was the triple crown winner in a very competitive Pac-10. ETA: 2011 14. Twins ñ OF Aaron Hicks, Wilson, HS ñ Hicks was better suited as a pitcher, but he wanted to hit. He is extremely athletic, but the Twins have had trouble developing outfielders out of high school. BJ Garbe and Denard Span are perfect examples of recent first round busts. ETA: 2013 15. Dodgers ñ 3b Ethan Martin, SC HS ñ Martin is another player that would have been drafted higher if he wanted to pitch. The Dodgers love to draft raw athletes with flexibility in position and have had a lot of success developing them for the Bigs: see Blake Dewitt, Russ Martin, Matt Kemp, and Edwin Jackson. ETA: 2013 16. Brewers ñ C Brett Lawrie, Canada ñ The first Canadian player chosen could be a very valuable backstop. He can play other positions as well. Being from Canada, he is going to need a lot of development against better competition, but we have seen Jason Bay and Justin Morneau turn out just fine. ETA: 2013 17. Toronto ñ 1b David Cooper, California ñ The Blue Jays were banking on Lawrie, so when Milwaukee announced the pick, the team panicked. Many scouts say this is a poor pick, but I donít mind it so much. Cooper did hit 19 homeruns and bat .350. Investment tip: Pick up as many Cooper baseball cards NOW, and then sell next year. He should dominate the lower minors, but I donít know how he will handle AA. ETA: 2011 18. New York (NL) ñ 1b Ike Davis, Arizona State ñ Davis was the Mets guy after Jason Castro. The Mets are hoping for 35 homerun power with a chance to hit .280-.300. I would not mind that either. ETA: 2011 19. Chicago (NL) ñ RHP Andrew Cashner, TCU ñ Cubs fans may not like this pick, but Chicago expects to win NOW. Cashner could be up in late August and be a useful arm out of the bullpen in the stretch run. ETA: 2008 20. Seattle (AL) ñ RHP Josh Fields, Georgia ñ I donít like this pick for Seattle. Fields is a closer of the future, but what are the Mariners going to do with Brandon Morrow, another first round pick a few years ago. Either give Morrow a chance to start or donít make this pick. ETA: 2009 21. Detroit ñ RHP Ryan Perry, Arizona ñ Detroit gets a pass for drafting a relief pitcher. The Tigers have opened their wallets on the past three drafts on players that fell down on the board for high money demands (Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, and Rick Porcello). ETA: 2009 22. New York (NL) ñ SS Reese Havens, South Caroline ñ Talk about bad luck, but the Mets thought at least one of the three pitchers picked would be available after the teamís first pick. Havens is a good shortstop, who will move through the minors quickly and should be brought up as a shortstop. He can make the adjustments to second base in AAA or even the majors. ETA: 2010 23. San Diego ñ 1b Alan Dykstra, Wake Forest ñ The Padres get a safe pick here with Dykstra, but they could have waited till later. The Padres do have a reputation for drafting San Diego born players, and he was the best of the bunch in that regards. The question is: does he have what it takes to remain at first, or is he better suited as a DH? ETA: 2011 24. Philadelphia ñ SS Andrew Hewitt, Salisbury (Conn.) HS ñ If you had to put money one someone who will not make the majors, I would bet on Hewitt. He has received a lot of hype from his coach, but many scouts believed he is SIX years from reaching the majors. SIX?!?!!? So much can happen in that time, that it is too much of a risk for me. ETA: 2014 25. Colorado ñ LHP Christian Friederich, Eastern Kentucky ñ This is the player that should have been picked for the last ten picks. Maybe there is something the scouts do not like, but after watching video of him, I can see him as a potential number two starter in the bigs. ETA: 2011 26. Arizona ñ LHP Daniel Schlereth, Arizona ñ Arizona got an Arizona kid, but was it too early. Baseball America rated him the 60th best player in the draft, and a sa reliever that may not have the stuff to be a closer (92 mph fastball) and with poor command, poor pick by Arizona. ETA: 2011 27. Minnesota ñ RHP Carlos Gutierez, Miami ñ This is another poor pick due to a good player playing for a great team. Gutierez was the 82nd best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America. He should be a good pitcher, but the Twins could have waited till the second (or even third) round. Signability pick? Most likely. ETA: 2011 28. New York (AL) ñ RHP Garret Cole, Orange Lutherin HS ñ Cole could be the best high school pitcher of this draft. He fell this far because teams feared he would go to college, but with the wallet of the Yankees, I doubt that now. Excellent pick by the Yankees for drafting a top-15 talent. ETA: 2012 29. Cleveland- 3b Lonnie Chisenhall, Pitt CC ñ You will hear a lot of Cleveland fans complain about this pick because most scouts projected him as a third round pick. Talent wise, Chisenhall was the best freshman in his class a few years ago. The reason for the fall (and getting kicked off of South Carolina) was poor behavior and bad makeup. Potential great pick, but equally potential bust. ETA: 2012 30. Boston- Casey Kelly, SS Sarasota HS ñ Kelly is great pick here. A lot of teamís were scared by his quarterback scholarship at Tennessee, but the Red Sox have the money to change his thoughts. Kelly is a true athlete, and is several yearsa away, but he could be a superstar. ETA: 2013