The 2010 MLB Amateur Draft started on Monday with the Washington Nationals staking their claim first with the first pick of the night.

As we already know and have reported, the Nationals took 17-year-old Bryce Harper from the College of Southern Nevada as their first round draft pick and the first overall draft pick of the night. Although he has played catcher, he’ll find himself as an outfielder with Washington, which will likely have him moving up the ladder quicker than if he were labeled as a catcher.

The second overall pick of the night was 18-year-old James Taillon from The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas. Taillon was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates for their first round pick and has labeled the 18-year-old as a right-handed pitcher. Majority of his pitchers come in on the radar in the high 90s.

Third overall pick of the Monday’s night draft was 18-year-old Manny Machado out of Miami’s Brito High. He’ll be a shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.

The fourth overall pick of the draft Monday evening was 21-year-old Christian Colon out of Cal State Fullerton. The Kansas City Royals have chosen Colon as a shortstop. He has a lot of experience as well as strong skill but many wouldn’t consider him as a franchise player. So, we’ll have to see how that goes.

To round out the top five draft picks of the draft, 21-year-old Drew Pomeranz (pictured) out of Mississippi was drafted by the Cleveland Indians as a left-handed pitcher. He was the first collegiate pitcher selected in Monday’s draft and is considered to be one of the draft picks that make that climb up the ladder to the Majors pretty quickly. He has a fastball in the lower 90s and was chosen as the SEC player of the year last year.

So, there you have it – the top five draft picks from Monday night’s draft. Remember, none of these guys are required to sign a contract. Who do you think will and who do you think will go another direction in life?

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