Here are some updates to prepare you for the top five picks in the 2009 draft, which takes place a week from tomorrow.
- The Mariners pick second and they have four of the first 51 picks. That's why the Mariners' scouting director told MLB.com's Jim Street that this is the most important draft in franchise history. That's a bold statement considering the Mariners drafted both Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Dustin Ackley, who the Mariners may well choose, told David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus that he doesn't care who drafts him.
- The Padres are tight-lipped about what they plan to do with their third overall pick, as MLB.com's Corey Brock reports.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington identified Stephen Strasburg as the best available pitcher and Ackley as the best available hitter in Jenifer Langosch's MLB.com article. The Pirates, who pick fourth, say there's a group of quality arms available after those two players.
- Baltimore's director of scouting says the O's will take the best available player in next week's draft. MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says they'll have the chance to take an elite arm with their fifth overall pick.
- Lane Meyer of NoMaas.org heard that the Yankees are impressed by the depth of the left-handed pitching class in this year's draft.
