Harper seems headed for our nation's capital

Baseball Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft gets underway on June 7th, with the Washington Nationals holding the top pick for the second straight year.

It is just the second time since the inception of the draft in 1965 that a team has had the No. 1 overall selection in consecutive years, as Tampa Bay chose David Price and Tim Beckham with the top picks in 2007-08.

Until the most recent basic agreement took effect in 2005, the top pick had alternated annually between the leagues.

Of course, Washington selected arguably the best pitching prospect ever in Steven Strasburg with the first selection last year. Strasburg, who is scheduled to make his big league debut the day after the start of this year's draft, could be joined soon by another phenom in 17-year-old slugging catcher Bryce Harper.

The consensus best player available in this year's draft, Harper has already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and has been dubbed the "LeBron James of Baseball". As per agent Scott Boras' advice, Harper skipped his final two years of high school, received his GED and enrolled in a wood-bat junior college league to get him in the draft a year early.

Despite being just 17 years old, Harper starred for the College of Southern Nevada, hitting .442 with 29 home runs, 89 RBI, 88 runs scored, an .986 slugging percentage and a .524 on-base-percentage through 62 games.

Scouts differ on where he will play at the next level. Some say he is fine where he is behind the plate, while others feel he will either outgrow the position or that his bat will be too good to hold him back, with the thinking that a move to third base or right field could get him to the majors quicker.

Harper's legend grew last summer, when at the 2009 International Power Showcase at Tropicana Field, he hit the longest home run in the building's history at 502 feet, albeit with a metal bat.

Should he indeed go to the Nationals, Harper will be the first catcher selected with the first pick since Minnesota made reigning American League Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer the top overall selection in 2001.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the second pick, followed by the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. The Arizona Diamondbacks select sixth, with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics completing the top 10.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hold three first-round picks (18, 29, 30) and will make five of the first 40 selections. The Texas Rangers, Astros and Tampa Bay Rays also hold multiple picks in round one.

As usual, pitching will dominate the first round, with prep right-hander Jameson Taillon and Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz both expected to go early on. Also, South Florida high schooler Manny Machado, who has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez, is also expected to be gone in the top five.

Once again the draft will take place over three days. The first day will consist of the first 50 picks, including Round One and Compensation Round A. There will be five minutes between first-round picks and one minute between all other selections.

On Tuesday, June 8th, the Draft will resume in the second round at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The draft will then conclude on Wednesday, June 9th, which is set to cover the 31st-50th rounds and will begin again at 12:00 p.m. (EDT).

The inaugural Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held in New York in 1965. The selection rotation is determined by the clubs' reverse order of their won-lost records at the close of the previous regular season, regardless of league.

There will be 50 rounds in the draft and it will finish after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection in the 50th round, whichever comes first.

Former No. 1 overall selections include current major leaguers Ken Griffey, Jr. (1987), Chipper Jones (1990), Rodriguez (1993), Josh Hamilton (1999), Adrian Gonzalez (2000), Mauer (2001), and Price (2007).

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

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