Some more links in anticipation of this evening's draft…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th because the 15th is a Saturday. The Nats' negotiations with Scott Boras will probably go down to the wire regardless, so it barely matters. If anything it's bad news for the Nats, as they'll have less time to prepare their probable selection, Stephen Strasburg, for a late-season cameo.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs could choose two hitters with their 16th and 17th picks. They like Bobby Borchering, but he may not be available to them.
- Nolan Ryan expects the Rangers to select a pitcher when they pick 14th, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller rounds up major leaguers' responses to this question: Has any prospect ever received more hype than Strasburg?
- And here's the final projection MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will make. He has Dustin Ackley going to Seattle, Donavan Tate going to San Diego, Tony Sanchez going to Pittsburgh and Zack Wheeler going to Baltimore.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law has the same five players going in the same order. Interestingly, Law has Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers out of the first round, in large part because they're expected to demand lots of money.