From Last Night:

• The Mariners and White Sox take a 0-0 game into the 14th, each score 5, but the Sox win it in 16
• CarGo hits 3 HR and Tulo hits 2 HR as the Rockies smash the Reds
• Byrd homers twice to back a solid outing by Gee over the Nats
• Dickey helps his own cause at the plate and nearly misses a CGSO
• Hamels finally looks like Hamels, striking out 11 Marlins
• Sabathia gives up 4, but gets the CG win against the Indians
• Teheran nearly no-hits the Pirates

What I’m Watching Today:

• Lester and Holland duel in Boston (7p Eastern)
• Shelby Miller faces the Dbacks, looks to earn Appointment Television title in the process (8p Eastern)
• Greinke tries to straighten out against the Braves (10p Eastern)

The Big Question:

• Who will populate the top picks in today’s draft?

While there is plenty of exciting baseball on today, the MLB Draft will take center stage for most die hard fans. Unlike the NFL Draft, the MLB version doesn’t turn itself into an entire season in and of itself, but rather calls attention to itself in more subtle and sophisticated ways. Only a handful of mock drafts are done and only the first two rounds get airtime. A few names to know for the first pick are Mark Appel, Jonathan Gray, Kris Bryant, and Colin Moran, but it still remains unclear as to who the Astros will take first overall. I’m hoping for the Tar Heel, Moran, not because he’s the best, but because I’m a grad student at UNC and am hoping he drops several hundred dollars on his way back from signing the contract. If you’re new to the process, the key difference between the MLB Draft and others is that MLB teams are always drafting the best player available and do not focus on their current positional needs. NFL picks are expected to contribute right away, but MLB picks go through a seasoning process. For example, the Tigers will take a 3B with their pick if he’s the best player left even though they have a big of a logjam at the position. If you’re looking for a primer on the top picks, I suggest Mark Anderson’s work at BPN: