Here we are yet again in 2010. Another sport, another draft, and another highly anticipated draft class that has to meet those overbearingly high expectations of the scouts and GM’s around Major League Baseball. While I love the sport of baseball inwards and out, I also love the memorabilia that keeps the history alive for years to come. Some of these young men will sign soon and be sent off to start their career. And the others; they will wait and wait and wait until their agent gives them the go ahead to grab a pen. Look a little closer around the internet and you may notice that they have already done that very thing. Here are the top 10 Draft Picks of the 2010 MLB Draft along with links to their memorabilia already hitting the market.

1. Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals - College of Southern Nevada - MLB.com Draft Report - The Bryce Harper story is well-documented at this point. Just 17 and in junior college, he’s gotten as much hype as any Draft prospect not named Strasburg. For the most part, he’s lived up to it in his first college season, showing incredible hitting and power skills. He’s moved around on the field and has plus arm strength from anywhere, though most would like to see him catch. The only questions that seem to remain with Harper is if he’ll go No. 1 overall and then, if he’ll sign.

2. Jameson Taillon - Pittsburgh Pirates - The Woodlands HS (TX) - MLB.com Draft Report - Taillon is the complete package in a high school pitcher, with tremendous size, stuff and a feel for pitching. He has three plus pitches in his fastball, slider and curve. Even his changeup, while not used that much, is solid. He uses his size to his advantage and has tremendous mound presence. As impressive as his stuff is, his makeup might be even better. A commitment to Rice might sound intriguing, but if he goes at the top of the first round, and everything points to that happening, it likely won’t be an issue.

3. Manny Machado - Baltimore Orioles - Brito Miami Private School (FL) - MLB.com Draft Report - Machado entered the season as the top high school position player and has done nothing to diminish that evaluation. Big and athletic, he can do just about everything on the baseball field, with the ability to hit for plenty of average and some power as he matures. He has more than enough arm to play shortstop and is fine there for now, though there is some concern he’ll outgrow the position. Even if he does, he’d be just fine at third, both in terms of handling the position defensively and providing the kind of offense teams look for at the hot corner. Regardless of his position, Machado is primed to be one of the earliest names taken off the board in June.

4. Christian Colon - Kansas City Royals - Cal State - Fullerton - MLB.com Draft Report - A big prospect since high school, there’s a lot to like about Colon’s game. He has a solid approach and setup at the plate and he makes the plays in the field. His individual tools don’t grade out well, and some think he’ll need to move to second as a pro. He was the captain of Team USA last summer and put up big numbers as well. He hadn’t done that in the early going of his junior season and this is a performance-based industry, so that could hurt his draft stock a little. Even if he doesn’t pick it up, his past performance, makeup and baseball acumen should help ensure he doesn’t wait too long to hear his name called.

5. Drew Pomeranz - Cleveland Indians - Ole Miss - MLB.com Draft Report - Pomeranz has established himself as the top lefty arm in a Draft class that hasn’t got a deep the southpaw pool. Big, strong and durable, he has the makings of an above-average three-pitch mix. He commands his fastball and breaking ball very well, and, while the changeup is a bit behind, it’s improving quickly. There’s little not to like about Pomeranz — most criticisms are on the nit-picky side — and it seems likely that he’ll hear his name called very early on Draft Day.

6. Barret Loux - Arizona Diamond Backs - Texas A&M - MLB.com Draft Report - With his performances this spring, Loux is quickly moving up draft charts. The big right-hander has four pitches he uses, though it’s his fastball and plus changeup that really stand out. His breaking stuff needs some tightening, but with his command, mound presence and easy delivery, there’s reason to believe he can improve that part of his game as well. Before the season began, most Texas college pitching buzz went to Brandon Workman, but Loux has forced his way to the top of that conversation and likely into the first couple of rounds.

7. Matt Harvey - New York Mets - North Carolina - MLB.com Draft Report - Once a top high school prospect, Harvey has reclaimed his status as a first-round candidate with a resurgent junior season. The delivery problems that had him so off his game as a sophomore have largely been corrected, though there are still some issues there that can effect his command and ability to throw his breaking ball. Still, Harvey was showing an above-average to plus fastball and maintaining his velocity, to go along with glimpses of good breaking stuff and a feel for a change. He’s come a long way this season, and he likely won’t have to wait too long to be redrafted.

8. Delino Deshields Jr - Houston Astros - Woodward Academy (GA) - MLB.com Draft Report - DeShields has two things really working in his favor: his plus speed and his bloodlines. His dad of the same name spent many years in the big leagues, and the hope is that the younger DeShields could be a similar type of player. He does have the potential to be a very good hitter and puts his speed to use on the basepaths. He has more than enough range to handle center field and the hands to play second if a team wanted to give that a look. Scouts have had a hard time getting a consistent read on DeShields. He’s toolsy and seems like he’ll fall right into the old risk vs. reward debate. It seems likely a team will be willing to take the plunge at some point not too deep into the Draft.

9. Karsten Whitson - San Diego Padres - Chipley HS (FL) - MLB.com Draft Report - It’s looking like a pretty strong year for high school arms, and Whitson should be near the top in any discussion about them. He’s already big, strong and durable and he has plenty of projection, meaning he might throw harder than his already mid-90s fastball. Add in a plus breaking ball and good changeup and he has a very intriguring three-pitch mix already. Some tweaks to his delivery could make him even more dangerous. There might be a right-hander or two ahead of Whitson on the high school depth chart, but he should figure into high Draft pick conversations come June.

10. Michael Choice - Oakland Athletics - University of Texas - Arlington - MLB.com Draft Report - In a year that lacks a ton of big-name college hitters, players from smaller programs like Choice have a chance to shine, and he is taking advantage. Though he’ll need work on his swing mechanics, he has big-time raw power to all fields. He runs well and plays a strong outfield to boot. He may not be the elite hitter clubs seek, but since there aren’t many of those this year, teams may look hard at Choice in the early going.

     After making a statement to the rest of the league in taking two of three from the New York Yankees to start the season, the Orioles continue to keep their momentum and are now tied with the Blue Jays at 6-2 to lead the AL East.  From the surprise 2-0 record so far from ace Jeremy Guthrie to the offensive onslaught by the Orioles thus far, fans of Baltimore are excited about the product that has been put on the field this year.  The Orioles offense especially has been impressive with the first four batters in the lineup all batting .333 or higher (lead-off hitter Brian Roberts is hitting a whopping .441).  Even after starting pitcher Koji Uehara gave up 7 runs to Texas on Monday night, the Orioles showed their resiliency by scoring 10 runs to edge the Rangers 10-9 at Arlington Park.  There haven’t been any real star players to point at on how the O’s have been so successful, just an overall team effort coming from all players.  GM Andy MacPhail has done a tremendous job of acquiring various position players this off-season such as utility fielder Ty Wiggington and catcher Gregg Zaun.  Even with the starting third baseman Melvin Mora sitting out possibly for the next few games, Wiggington will be able to switch from second to third to fill the hole perfectly. 

 One of the biggest keys to Baltimore’s success so far, though, has definitely got to be their speed.  Most of the positional players on the team are very fast.  With an outfield that consists of Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Felix Pie and Adam Freel, more ground is covered defensively.  A perfect example would be Nick Markakis’ quick jump to snag a fly ball at the wall to end the game against Texas at 10-9 on Monday night.  On the offensive side, runners are taking the extra base more easily this year.  Manager Dave Trembley was quoted as saying, “We’re going from first-to-third second-to-home.  Those kinds of things are really important because they put the pitcher in a situation because you’re either forced to pitch to the guy, pitch around the guy, maybe take his put-away pitch away from him.  We’re playing very unselfish baseball as far as I’m concerned up at the plate.”  With Adam Jones’ 2-run go-ahead home run Tuesday to beat Texas 7-5 in 10 innings, the Orioles have now won all three series they have played so far this season.  It’s early, but the Birds are hot so far.      

Its official, spring training has begun. There have been a lot of changes made this off season to the makeup of this young Orioles club, but there are two new faces that seem to be stealing most of the spotlight to start this 2009 season.  One of those faces has never been seen by this franchise as a whole since its original existence in 1953.  Right-handed pitcher Koji Uehara is the first and only Japanese player to ever sign with the Baltimore Orioles and most of the media anxiously watched as he threw his first bullpen session on Monday. Uehara threw about a 50 pitches and impressed his coaches with the variety of pitches he has in his arsenal.  Showing good control of both his curveball and forkball, Uehara went on to demonstrate great control of his fastball (with higher-than-average velocity).  The Japanese star was able to locate his fastball to wherever catcher Greg Zaun placed his glove as a target and even showed his coaches another pitch he has been able to use effectively in recent years, the cut fastball.   Yankees pitcher, and one of baseball’s all-time greatest closers, Mariano Rivera has been using this pitch with so much success for years because it constantly keeps batters off with their timing.  Even at the age of 39-years-old, he plans to continue his success using the cutter.  The Baltimore organization seems to also be happy to have finally tapped into the Japanese market as seen by the mass of Japanese reporters and media covering one of their star-players.  The Orioles and Uehara agreed on a two-year deal in January and hope that a lot will come out of this exciting transaction. 

 The other face grabbing most of the attention of the team and fans alike is Baltimore’s top prospect and future catcher Matt Wieters. Except in this case it is not just the face getting everyone’s attention, it is the 6′5″ frame that comes with it.  Did I also mention that he is a switch-hitting machine with a very strong arm and quick release?  Wieters was at one time a dominant shut-down closer coming out of the bullpen for Georgia Tech and the Orioles have great aspirations for their big young stud.  In just 61 games for Baltimore’s AA club last year, the 230-pounder had an incredible 51 RBI’s and 12 homeruns.  If that still is not enough proof of Wieters’ potential, then I should go on to tell you that agent Scott Boras was very quick to snag this young talent coming out of the 2007 draft and earn him about $6 million already. There is some debate as to when the organization looks to have Wieters eventually take over as starting catcher, but most agree on one common thing: it will happen sometime this year.  With the size, the talent and scouting report on this guy, it just seems like a matter of time before we could have yet another Mark Teixeira playing in the AL East for years to come.

     The Baltimore Orioles continue to work on their off season makeover as seen in the recent changes made throughout this past week.  Let’s start with position players.  Going along with their philosophy of wanting to get both younger and faster, the O’s have recently cut ties with first baseman Kevin Millar.  Millar was somewhat of a leader for the club, but he was also one of the slowest runners along with starting catcher Ramon Hernandez (who was traded earlier this off season to the Reds).  Soon after, the Orioles signed utility infielder Ty Wiggington to a two-year deal worth $6 million.  Wiggington officially became an Oriole this Tuesday after passing his physical exam.  Baltimore hopes to use Wiggington mostly at first base, but he will sometimes share the DH role and possibly back up third baseman Melvin Mora on occasion.  Wiggington is 32-years-old and helps make the infield younger along with Roberts, Izturis and Mora.  He also provides some pop to the lineup alongside DH Aubrey Huff. 

On the pitching front, the Orioles have solidified their closer role by avoiding arbitration with reliever George Sherrill and signing him to a one-year deal worth $2.75 million.  Most of us remember him as that hard-throwing lefty who threw 2.1 innings of scoreless ball late in a tied 2008 All-Star game.  The American League went on to win the game and give the league home field advantage to the AL in the World Series.  Sherrill was impressive with 31 saves for the Orioles and will be anxious to continue his dominance as the Orioles closer.  Baltimore also recently acquired lefty starter Rich Hill from the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named or cash.  Hill was impressive for the Cubs in 2007 when he posted 183 strikeouts in 195 innings.  He ended the 2007 season with an 11-8 record and a 3.92 ERA.  He struggled the following year though dealing with back spasms and overall inconsistency.  GM Andy MacPhail was quoted as saying, “We’re hopeful that with the presence of two of his former pitching coaches, we can get him back to where he was in 2007.” Hill will also fit into MacPhail’s club philosophy which is to make the club younger. Hill is just 29-years-old.  Finally, the team added lefty starter John Parrish by signing him to a minor league contract in hopes he can compete for a starting rotation spot this spring training.  Parrish is just 31-years-old and pitched both as a starter and reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays last year in 13 games.  He ended up with a 4.04 ERA and is out to prove that he can end up being a starter for Baltimore.  I somehow feel that GM Andy MacPhail has not finished his makeover yet. 

       Second baseman Brian Roberts has now become the next order of business to discuss among the Orioles’ brass.  One of the most popular players on the team in the last couple of years, the Orioles want to retain their young veteran and have recently offered Roberts a three-year contract worth $30 million.  The Orioles would be making a wise investment by signing the two-time All Star, but there is just one minor detail that is holding up the process: years.  Roberts and his agent are seeking a four-year extension from Baltimore before he becomes a free agent after the 2009 season. 

 GM Andy MacPhail has made it clear that the O’s would love to have Roberts back, but was quoted as saying, “The market hasn’t completely played itself out yet.  Hopefully we can get something done.”  If a deal does not get done before the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July, Roberts could very well be dangled to other teams as trade-bait, especially as the Orioles look to bolster their starting rotation. 

 It has been a very odd time for free agents lately as the market has slowed down dramatically.  Since the signing of Mark Teixeira to the New York Yankees just over a month ago, players who were looking to be signed soon after are still waiting and available.  Teams have been very hesitant with the economy as slow as it is lately (i.e. Manny Ramirez). 

 The Orioles also may not have as much value as they think in trading away for Roberts as highly valued free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson (like Roberts 31-years-old) has also been one of the free agents waiting for an offer from a team for some time now.  Who will hold out the longest and how will the market play out?  These are the two burning questions and what will ultimately determine where Brian Roberts ends up.  Starting shortstop Rafael Furcal recently signed a similar three-year $30 million contract with the LA Dodgers, but the jury (and market) will still be out on just how valuable Brian Roberts really is.  Anything could happen; we’ll see if Roberts’ agent knows what he is doing. 

       The Orioles and starting right fielder Nick Markakis have reached an agreement on a six-year extension worth $66.1 million according to Fox Sports.  The deal was finalized Wednesday as the two sides worked through the last details of the contract.  Extending Markakis’ contract was one of GM Andy MachPheil’s primary concerns this off season.  Markakis is one of Baltimore’s top lefty hitters in the lineup and provides a great balance of both power and speed.  At the young age of 25, Markakis will be spending his prime years on the Orioles as he will still just be 31 years of age when the contract ends after the 2014 season.  Only Miguel Tejada and Albert Belle have been offered contracts larger than Nick Markakis in terms of total financial commitment from the O’s. 

Markakis (love that name by the way) is a wise investment for Baltimore as he has been a healthy player with his average increasing each year since his major league debut in 2006.  Being a Long Island product from Glen Cove, Markakis has made a name for himself in the last couple of years.  His new extension will now take him through his arbitration years and delay his free agency by three years.  With the recent addition of left fielder Felix Pie from the Cubs in exchange for pitcher Garrett Olsen, the Orioles look to have a very young outfield in 2009.  The team hopes to have the 23-year-old Pie start most of the games in left field with Adam Jones (also 23-years-old) starting in center field and Nick Markakis in right field.  Pie is a lefty batter and has a tremendous amount of speed.  Things seem to be shaping up for the Baltimore Orioles as the team continues to get younger and faster. Wait, isn’t this starting to sound like the formula of success for another rival team in the AL East? You got it, the young Tampa Bay Rays shocked the baseball world and went to their first ever World Series in 2008.