Major League Baseball's amateur draft begins tonight, with the first round starting at 7 p.m. ET. (Subsequent rounds will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.) You'll be able to watch Monday's first-round selection action on MLB Network.
The Detroit Tigers don't have a pick among the first 32, thanks to their signing of free agent reliever Jose Valverde. (As a Type A free agent, Detroit had to surrender its first-round selection to the Houston Astros as compensation.) But they do have compensatory picks in the "sandwich round" between the first and second. The Tigers will have the 44th and 48th selections.
With the first overall pick, the Washington Nationals are widely expected to take 17-year-old catcher-outfielder prospect Bryce Harper from the College of Southern Nevada. That seems to be the draft's one true certainty, though high school pitcher Jameson Tallion and prep shortstop Manny Machado are considered the next best prospects. But after the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles make their selections, the rest of the draft is a guess, at best.
Will the Tigers continue their trend of using the draft to stock up on pitching? Might scouting director David Chadd look to plug organizational holes at third base, catcher, or shortstop? Or is "best player available" simply the best way to go?
SB Nation's Detroit Tigers blog, Bless You Boys, has predictions for which players the team will select tonight. (BYB will also be live-blogging the first 50 picks.) You can also click over to Minor League Ball, and check out their mock draft projections, along with whatever rumors are swirling around as teams make their picks.