No. 1 – Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State. No surprise here. Strasburg is one of the most flashy prospects to ever enter the Draft, possibly the most. The only question is: what kind of money will he demand? And most importantly: will he get it?

No. 2 – Seattle Mariners: Dustin Ackley, 1B/CF, UNC. The Mariners were toying with drafting Aaron Crow, the right handed pitcher who didn’t sign with the Nationals last year. But they made a smart decision here. Not only is Ackley the best player on the board at two, the Mariners need some power, and Ackley is the best hitter in the draft.

No. 3 – San Diego Padres: Cameron Tate, OF, Cartersville HS. The Padres made a smart decision here. The best available player, in my mind, is Tate. He’s incredibly athletic, as he does have a two-sided scholarship, so the No. 1 concern right now: signability. He has a tough decision to make: football or baseball?

No. 4 – Pittsburgh Pirates: Tony Sanchez, C, Boston College. This pick makes NO SENSE. The Pirates have the choice between taking not only a need, but the best players available, and decide to take the 29th overall prospect in this draft. They could’ve taken Aaron Crow, Kyle Gibson, heck, even Tanner Scheppers. This pick is ridiculous.

No. 5 – Baltimore Orioles: Matt Hobgood, RHP, Norco HS. The O’s decided to add a workhorse to their future rotation by adding Hobgood, a 6′4″, 245, Norco HS graduate. In high school last year, he was 11-1 and had a 0.92 ERA. Most compare him to Brad Penny and maybe even Josh Beckett. Solid pick.

No. 6 – San Francisco Giants: Zack Wheeler, RHP, East Paulding HS. I like this pick, as well. Wheeler, another high school pitcher, has solid arm strength, and not only that, has plus breaking pitches. The Giants were almost forced to take a pitcher here, and while I would take Crow/Matzek/Gibson/Turner over Wheeler, this East Paulding graduate isn’t a bad choice.

No. 7 – Atlanta Braves: Mike Minor, LHP, Vanderbilt. I know. First thing you think when you see that this kid is a left handed pitcher out of Vanderbilt: David Price. No, Minor isn’t going to wow you like Price will, but Minor has a solid feel for pitching that could propel him to the majors. He’s got command of three pitches. Somewhat of a reach, but not much.

No. 8 – Cincinnati Reds: Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State. This pick doesn’t make sense. Leake is a good pitcher and could develop, but there are better prospects available. In fact, there are better PITCHING prospects available, like Aaron Crow, Tanner Scheppers, Tyler Matzek, etc. Leake is a solid pick here, but it could’ve been a whole lot better.

No. 9 – Detroit Tigers: Jacob Turner, RHP, Westminster Christian Academy. Turner is “what you look for from a high school righty”, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. I would agree. He’s a big kid, has three plus pitches, but has some minor delivery flaws. However, if Turner can correct those, we could be seeing a very good pitcher for years to come. Solid pick at nine.

No. 10 – Washington Nationals: Drew Storen, RHP, Stanford. The Nationals prove here why they are on pace to win 44 games. Storen is a solid reliever, but a solid late first round reliever. When you have two of the top four right handed pitchers available and the top middle infielder, it’s a no-brainer. You have to take Crow or Scheppers here. Even Matzek or Green makes sense. But Drew Storen? You must be joking.

No. 11 – Colorado Rockies: Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS. I would’ve taken Crow, but Matzek makes sense. He’s a steal at 11. Some projected him to go 5th to the Orioles or 8th to the Reds. When he’s locked in, it’s hard to argue that this guy is major league ready. His fastball reaches 95, he has solid command, and I’m a fan of the pick at 11. However, I’m not ready to call him a Hall of Famer just yet, as the Rockies first round picks recently have been very subpar.

No. 12 – Kansas City Royals: Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats. You feel for some of these prospects. Last year, Crow was drafted early by the Washington Nationals but refused to sign, mainly to build up stock. Despite improving his changeup in the Indy League, he dropped even further. I have confidence he’ll sign this time. He wants to prove the teams who passed on him wrong – and I think he can and will.

No. 13 – Oakland Athletics: Grant Green, SS, USC. The A’s have a poor offense. Matt Holliday has been quiet this season, and adding Green was wise here. He’s easily the best position player available, and while I would’ve drafted Scheppers or Gibson here, Green makes a good bit of sense. He has five-tool potential. The only concern: he’s a Boras client.

No. 14 – Texas Rangers: Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS. The Rangers added a hometown product here, adding Matt Purke, a southpaw out of Klein High School in Texas. Besides Matzek, he’s arguably the best high school pitcher in the draft, and the reason he slid so far is because he doesn’t have favorable size, raising questions about durability.

No. 15 – Cleveland Indians: Alex White, RHP, UNC. I love this pick. It’s not a huge steal, but a steal, nonetheless. His track record speaks for itself. In his UNC career, he is 27-14, including 13-3 with a solid 2.83 ERA in 2008. He hasn’t been as impressive this year (8-4, 4.13, 10 HRs allowed), but is still a noticeable talent with the 15th pick.

No. 16 – Arizona Diamondbacks: Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot HS. Not a big fan of this pick. It’s not a knock on Borchering, either. First off, he’s not even close to the best player available. Kyle Gibson is there, as is Shelby Miller, and Tanner Scheppers. Also, the D’Backs have Mark Reynolds in the bigs, a true power force, so it’s unclear what Borchering’s role would be in the future.

No. 17 – Arizona Diamondbacks: Allen Pollock, OF, Notre Dame. I don’t like this pick, either. Again, it’s not a knock on the player taken. But there are BETTER PLAYERS AVAILABLE. Tanner Scheppers, arguably the second best right hander in this draft, is there, as is Kyle Gibson, both guys who projected as top ten picks, arguably top five. No brainer. Bad pick.

No. 18 – Florida Marlins: Chad James, LHP, Yukon HS. Maybe these teams are just forgetting Kyle and Tanner exist. Chad James is a solid prospect, but not yet Scheppers-like. I like James, and I like him with the pick – but only if Gibson and Scheppers aren’t available, which they are, in which case I boo the pick.

No. 19 – St. Louis Cardinals: Shelby Miller, RHP, Brownwood HS. These teams continue to take risky high school prospect after risky high school prospect, as opposed to proven polished college stars like Scheppers or Gibson. Miller’s an elite draft prospect, but better than Scheppers? Gibson? Nope, not by any stretch of the imagination.

No. 20 – Toronto Blue Jays: Steven Jenkins, RHP, Kennesaw State. Another right handed pitcher selected. Another right handed pitcher not named Tanner Scheppers or Kyle Gibson. No, I won’t shut up about it. Jenkins is also a solid prospect, but not the best one available, and teams are incredibly foolish to pass on Scheppers and Gibson.

No. 21 – Houston Astros: Jiovani Mier, SS, Bonita HS. This pick is just confusing. Miguel Tejada is definitely aging, but one of the unwritten rules in the draft is: DON’T REACH FOR POSITIONS OF NEED. Mier may turn out to be a solid pick. He’s got Nomar Garciaparra comparisons around him, and as he matures, could hit for more power. However, much better players are available, and it’s not as if the Astros are stockpiled with pitching.

No. 22 – Minnesota Twins: Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri. Minnesota Twins, I salute you. Some projected Gibson as a top five pick, a guy who could be a future front-of-the-rotation starter. The Twins already have five guys in there who can be that, so his role in the future is “TBD”, but I love this pick. This is easily the steal of the draft in the first round.

No. 23 – Chicago White Sox: Jared Mitchell, OF, LSU. I like the pick – to a certain extent. Mitchell is an athletic LSU outfielder. He’s got raw power, and can steal bases and hit for power in the future. However, better players are available, like some guy I haven’t been mentioning enough lately, Tanner Scheppers. Even Eric Arnett. I like Mitchell, but not as much as the previously mentioned prospects.

No. 24 – Los Angeles Angels: Randal Grichuk, OF, Lamar Cons HS. Again, better players available. Yes, Grichuk is a solid power option. In that respect, I like the pick. If I were an Angels fan, I wouldn’t complain about getting this kid. However, I would prefer that Scheppers fellow. Not going to complain with Grichuk, however.

No. 25 – Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout, OF, Millville Senior HS. The Angels decide to draft another power-hitting outfielder. It makes sense, being that Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Vlad Guerrero aren’t in the primes of their careers. My preference is Tanner Scheppers, but Trout is a solid pick, and seemed thrilled to join the Angels.

No. 26 – Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Arnett, RHP, Indiana. I like this pick. This is about where I projected Arnett to fall: mid to late 20’s. He’s a solid right handed prospect, and I would’ve taken (do I even have to say it?), but Arnett’s a solid pick for the Brew Crew. It adds another elite young pitcher.

No. 27 – Seattle Mariners: Nicholas Franklin, SS, Lake Brantley HS. I would think the Mariners, who recently lost Chris Tillman to the Orioles, would jump all over Scheppers, but they decided to add Franklin. I don’t like it. What we’re seeing here is a classic case of the Mariners reaching for a need. Yuniesky Betancourt’s time in Seattle is running out. They need a shortstop. So, they take Franklin. Bad decision.

No. 28 – Boston Red Sox: Reymond Fuentes, OF, Fernando Callejo HS. This pick makes some sense. I assumed the Red Sox would take Scheppers here, plainly so the Yankees couldn’t. While they aren’t exactly in dire need of pitching, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka aren’t very young, and John Smoltz and Tim Wakefield are close to retirement. But, they decided to add an outfielder, which I’m puzzled by, knowing they have Ellsbury in center.

No. 29 – New York Yankees: Zachary Heatchott, OF, Texas HS. The Yankees had a chance to grab Scheppers, which would be the steal of the draft right away. However, they decided to add Heathcott, an intriguing high school center field prospect. He runs exceptionally well and has a very good arm. I love the way he competes and that he has power from the left side of the plate. Solid pick here, but I would’ve taken…..you know who.

No. 30 – Tampa Bay Rays: Levon Washington, 2B, Buchholz HS. The Tampa Bay Rays decided to go with the local product with the 30th overall pick, adding Gainesville, FL native Levon Washington. Signability might be of a concern, but Washington claims he was a Rays fan growing up, and “pretty much” expects to sign shortly. Akinori Iwamura isn’t exactly in the prime of his career, not that his prime is anything special.

No. 31 – Chicago Cubs: Brett Jackson, OF, UC Berkeley. The Cubs decided to add another outfielder, which puzzles me, being that they have such solid outfield depth in the majors. However, Jackson certainly is a good pick. In a draft weak for position players, especially outfielders, Jackson projected as a first rounder, and he has solid athleticism, so I am a fan of this selection.

No. 32 – Colorado Rockies: Tim Wheeler, OF, Cal State Sacramento. The Rockies capped off an exciting first round by drafting Tim Wheeler, an advanced college hitter who can hit for a solid average consistently. I like the pick.