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Draft Notes: Phillies, Brentz, Rays, Harper, Whitson

The reactions and updates keep trickling in, as last year's first overall pick prepares to make his much-anticipated major league debut...

• The Cubs selected Bryan Harper, Bryce's older brother, in the 26th round, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
• Phillies scouting director Marti Wolever tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the team is "very close" to signing first rounder Jesse Biddle (Twitter link).
• Red Sox supplementary rounder Byrce Brentz will sign for slot money, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. That should be an $891K bonus for Brentz, who was close to a deal just hours after the draft.
• Rays second round pick Jacob Thompson tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's ready to sign. The right-hander says he doesn't want to play "hardball" with the Rays (figuratively speaking, that is).
• Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he hopes to sign Bryce Harper and get his pro career started before the mid-August deadline for signing picks (Twitter link).
• The Nationals plan to have Harper play outfield, not catcher, according to Ben Goessling of MASN.com.
• Harper told the media that he intends on working out, having fun and fishing this summer, according to Goessling. In other words, don't expect the phenom to sign right away.
• The Giants took Brett Bochy (manager Bruce's son) with their 20th round pick, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter).
• Not to be outdone, the Rockies drafted manager Jim Tracy's son, Mark, in the 22nd round, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
• The White Sox selected Ozney Guillen in the 22nd round, but Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Guillen won't likely sign (Twitter link).
• And before those three teams made their selections, the Tigers picked Patrick Leyland in the eighth round, according to Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
• Houston's top three picks all told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that they expect to sign. Delino DeShields Jr., Mike Foltynewicz and Michael Kvasnicka could all be in the Astros' system before long.
• Padres executive Paul DePodesta explains that the club selected high school righty Karsten Whitson with its first round pick because of his upside, even though the pitcher's development could take years.
• Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer explained to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that the Yankees trust their scouts, even if it means surprising people with picks like Cito Culver.
• The Tigers announced that director of player development Glenn Ezell stepped down. The timing is odd, to say the least.

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