We are down to less than a week before the draft, it starts next Monday evening to be precise.  Mock drafts are breaking out all over and prognostications (guesses) are a dime a dozen.

The 2011 draft is less than two weeks away and, as usual, there is no hint of who the Jays might take.  The Jays first pick at number 21, then in the supplemental first round they pick at number 35 (Scott Downs); 46 (John Buck); 53 (Kevin Gregg); and 57 (Miguel Olivo).  The Jays also pick twice in the second round, with another Scott Downs related pick added to their regular selection.

The mock drafts are out in force. 

There wasn't overwhelming feedback against my initial suggestion in the other thread, so we'll go with Opera Bob's on Wednesday for the first (of hopefully many!) Batter's Box Beer Clubs of 2011. Let me know if you plan on dropping by!

Tuesday: With apologies to my fellow roster members, I'm bumping this to the top as I feel like it got buried under the deluge of posts from yesterday. If you're interested in having a beer over a game next week during the Rangers series, I'd love your feedback! Will make an announcement soon.

Today the teams will select players in round 2 through 30.  The Jays have two additional picks in the second round and one in the third.  Their first few picks of the day come at 61 (2nd round); 69 (Eliopoulos); 80 (Scutaro); 93 (3rd round); and 113 (Barrett).   Then it is down to every 30th pick.  The timetable is a lot faster on day two, the picks come every thirty seconds or so.

There are still some bigger names left on the board and the Jays can still expect that their in depth scouting has found some gems they can steal in this part of the draft.

The picking starts at noon.

Draft day is here.  This years first round draft choices appear to be the most uncertain in several years.  A few years ago, Jim Callis of Baseball America was able to predict the first thirteen or so picks of the first round.  This year the picks, once you get past the top three, are a guessing game.  The talent level for picks from 4 to 40 is supposed to be very even, which should help the Jays.  This year they have seen the top players ten or more times instead of three times.  They should have more information than other teams and so should be able to make more educated selections.  The fun begins at 7:00.  There will be 50 players drafted tonight.  The Jays will select four of them at 11; 34, 38; and 41.  We will update this thread with the picks as they happen.

UPDATE:  Shocker!  Washington selects the former artist known as catcher Bryce Harper, outfielder Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada first overall.

1. Washington - Bryce Harper, OF, College of Southern Nevada.
2. Pittsburgh - Jameson Taillon, RHP, Woodlands HS, Texas.
3. Baltimore - Manny Machado, SS, Brito Harper HS, Florida.
4. Kansas City - Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton.
5. Cleveland - Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Mississippi.
6. Arizona - Barret Loux, RHP, Texas A&M.
7. New York Mets - Matt Harvey, RHP, North Carolina.
8. Houston - Delino DeShields, Jr., OF, Woodward Academy, Georgia.
9. San Diego - Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley HS, Florida.
10. Oakland - Michael Choice, OF, Texas-Arlington.

The first round of the draft is Monday night.  The Jays choice is still a matter of intense speculation.  The picks in front of the Jays appear to be up in the air and the Jays don't know who will be left when their first pick comes around.

The draft is eight days away.  Use this thread as a catch all for draft discussion.

With the draft coming up I thought it would be interesting to take a look at who the Jays have taken and how they did.

I start this post at a disadvantage because I'm not a subscriber to either ESPN or Baseball America. I'm aware that BA has ongoing previews of the best players available for the upcoming June Draft.  and that Keith law has also weighed in with a Top 100 list. but given that both are not available for free, I must leave any discussion of those expressed opinions to others.

Here are some links and analysis following both days of the draft.

Has the draft always been in the evening? I seem to remember if being an afternoon affair... I suppose they want to capitalize on TV audiences. Anyway, it goes down at 6PM tonight.

Batters Box recently had the opportunity to check in with Jon Lalonde before June's draft.  Lalonde and the entire amateur scouting team are at their busiest right now preparing for the draft.  Obviously Lalonde was unable to comment on specific players and in truth the Jays draft board has probably not been settled yet.  Many college teams are still playing and trying to qualify for the college series.  Meanwhile cold weather high school players have recently started playing their seasons.

I don't think there are many surprises in his answers but he does leave the door open on high school pitching and also suggests, but does not absolutely say, that his budget has not been cut back.

The Nationals went 1-9 down the stretch to 'win' the first pick in next year's draft over the Mariners and Padres.

Back at it today beginning around 11:30 with the next 44 rounds, or until the Jays get tired and quit.

Yesterday the Jays took only one pitcher, Andrew Liebel, (and liked him more than my man Chris Carpenter who went a few picks later in round 3 and was also a senior) so I'd expect to see a lot of college pitchers being taken today.

Any player that makes the majors from this point on (other than signability players) is a huge success. In the Ricciardi era the best 7th round and later picks have been Tom Mastny (round 13) and Jesse Litsch (round 24).