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MLB.com has your Draft needs covered
For the first time, television will be part of two-day excitement
MLB.com continues to be the first place for fans to go for live multimedia coverage of the First-Year Player Draft. But a new era in Draft coverage will be ushered in on Thursday.
The Draft joins the television age when ESPN2 airs the first round for the first time today. The network's coverage will span four hours from The Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. So you won't miss a pick online, MLB.com will simulcast ESPN2's coverage.
That, of course, is just the beginning of the Draft coverage, and MLB.com will cover every pick of the two-day event. There will be live multimedia coverage on both days -- in Orlando and MLB.com's New York studios -- on BaseballChannel.TV. In addition, fans can get live interactive pick-by-pick results via the exclusive Draft Tracker. With reporting on all 30 teams, plus national stories and analysis, MLB.com is still the one-stop shopping site for all your Draft needs.
ESPN2 and MLB.com's coverage kicks it all off at 2 p.m. ET and will air each club's first-round choice, with a maximum of five minutes between selections. The broadcasts will continue as the Draft is ongoing until 6 p.m. Each Major League organization is sending representatives to make the selection official on the broadcast. Hall of Famers Robin Roberts (Philadelphia Phillies), Tommy Lasorda (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Dave Winfield (San Diego Padres) are among the big names who will be in Orlando today.
"Major League Baseball is delighted that ESPN2 will provide live coverage of our Draft," said Commissioner Bud Selig. "I am glad that this agreement will give fans access to see this critical function of an organization's development. This is an idea whose time has come."
Once ESPN2's coverage ends, MLB.com takes over. At 6:15 p.m., BaseballChannel.TV will have every pick of rounds No. 2-5 and beyond if Major League Baseball goes past five rounds on the first day. No round will begin past 8:30 p.m. ET, and BaseballChannel.TV's coverage will end with the conclusion of the first day. Casey Stern hosts the action with analysts Jonathan Mayo from MLB.com and David Rawnsley from Perfect Game USA. As always, every pick of every round can be heard live exclusively on MLB.com
| Pick | POS | Name | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. TB | LHP | David Price | Vanderbilt U |
| 2. KC | SS | Michael Moustakas | Chatsworth HS (Calif.) |
| 3. CHC | 3B | Josh Vitters | Cypress HS (Calif.) |
| 4. PIT | LHP | Daniel Moskos | Clemson U |
| 5. BAL | C | Matthew Wieters | Georgia Tech |
| 6. WSH | LHP | Ross Detwiler | Missouri St U |
| 7. MIL | LF | Matthew LaPorta | U Florida |
| 8. COL | RHP | Casey Weathers | Vanderbilt U |
| 9. ARI | RHP | Jarrod Parker | Norwell HS |
| 10. SF | LHP | Madison Bumgarner | South Caldwell HS |
Day 2 coverage starts up at 11:30 a.m. from New York. Mayo and Perfect Game USA's Allan Simpson will be providing regular updates throughout the day during BaseballChannel.TV's regular programming. In addition, Mayo, Simpson and Seth Everett will do a one-hour show from 2-3 p.m. At 6 p.m., Vinny Micucci will host a one-hour show, again with Mayo and Simpson providing in-depth analysis.
While waiting for the big day, do your homework and check out the 2007 Draft section. From a breakdown of Draft prospects by position to a first-person journal from the presumed No. 1 pick to a number of features on first-round possibles to previews on all 30 teams' Draft philosophies, there's everything you'll need to be ready for when the first pick is announced on Thursday.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
