So who's #1?

Its in everyone's head this time of year. Inquiring minds want to know who wil be the first pick on the 2010 NASBL entry draft. The Georgia Road Kill have that pick and their scouts have been playing it close to the vest. While nothing is set in stone, several players would seem to be a good fit for the Road Kill. The Road Kill did not have a first round pick last year as they traded that pick to the New Jersey Trash Heap in 2008 for a so far disappointing John Lackey. (NJT picked Joey Votto with that selection.) The last time GRK picked in the first was to take Yovanni Gallardo who has been injury riddled. Without much further ado, here is who Georgia should be looking at with their first pick.

Scouts Favorite: Catcher Matt Wieters is a big guy. At 6'5" he has drawn comparisons to Joe Mauer. He played his first major league game on Friday May 29, 2009, against the Detroit Tigers. Wieters' first major league hit came the next night, a triple, off of Detroit's Justin Verlander. Wieters hit his first career home run June 17, 2009 against the Mets, it was a two-run home run off of Mets starter Tim Redding. The 23 year old went on to hit .288 with a .340 on base percentage and 9 homers in 382 plate appearances. In the minors Wieters posted a lofty .341 career batting average. As young as Matt is, we can only expect his power to expand. Based on the current Road Kill catching situation, he appears to be the popular choice.

Owner's Favorite: Perhaps the worst kept secret in the bigs is Johnny Millers love for the Braves. It should come as no surprise that pitcher Tommy Hanson would be on his radar. Hanson was called up by the Atlanta Braves on June 3, 2009 after the team cut Tom Glavine. He had a rocky debut on June 7, 2009 against the Milwaukee Brewers pitching 6 innings, striking out 5, giving up 6 earned runs, 3 home runs and receiving a no decision. On June 12, 2009, Hanson earned his first win against the Baltimore Orioles. and on June 28, 2009, he threw six scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks to improve his career major league record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.48. In his 4 major league victories, his combined ERA to this point was 0.78. He threw 22 consecutive shutout innings and also became the first National League rookie pitcher to win consecutive starts against the Yankees and the Red Sox. For his efforts, Hanson was named the June's NL Rookie of the Month. In his final 10 starts, Hanson pitched 60.2 inning's, allowing just 17 earned runs in that span. Hanson's name had been mentioned heavily in the NL Rookie of the Year award talk's for most of the second half of the season, eventually finishing third in voting for the award. With the recent acquisition of Carlos Zambrano, passing on Wieters to take Hanson is a luxury the Road Kill may not be able to afford.

Fan Favorite: Its rare that a player can continue to hit despite being moved around the infield. Gordon Beckham is that rare player. A versatile infielder, he can play second, short or third adequately and it was this usefulness that led to his purchase by the White Sox on June 3, 2009. Beckham tore up the minors hitting .326 with 23 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI in 175 at-bats between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte. He got his first MLB hit, a single to center field, in his 14th at-bat on June 9, 2009 at U.S. Cellular Field, after which he received a standing ovation from the home crowd. On June 20, 2009, Beckham hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot in the fourth inning, off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto. Beckham's milestone home run came while the Reds were ahead 5-0, and sparked a comeback victory for the Sox. On October 26, 2009 Beckham was voted the American League Rookie of the Year by the MLBPA, which is voted on in September by every player on a major league roster. The fact that he can play various positions makes him particularly valuable in strat-o-matic.

Darkhorse: Although Florida left fielder Chris Coghlan didn't get called up until May 8, he impressed enough to win the Rookie of the Year award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Coghlan, 24, batted .321 -- best by a rookie since Albert Pujols in 2001. And Coghlan had 113 hits after the All-Star break, easily the most in the majors and most by anyone since 2004. He led the majors in hits in September with 47, most by a rookie in September since 1928. He also had the most August hits by a rookie (47) since 1954. And no NL player had 94 hits over a two-month span since Dave Parker in 1978. Coghlan led NL rookies in runs (84), total bases (232), doubles (31) and on-base percentage (.390). While all these numbers would have him worthy of a number one pick, the Road Kill outfield seems crowded already with the likes of Nick Markakis, Nate McLouth and Alex Rios.

Surprise pick: There is no better place to have a 1 then shortstop. Elvis Andrus is the player that franchises are built around. Elvis hit .267 with only 6 homers but at age 21, alot of future upside is expected offensively. His plate discipline is really strong, almost downright amazing for someone of his age and experience, and there is also a speed component to his game. From the defensive side of the field, Elvis is a vacuum cleaner at short. With Rangers shortstop Michael Young agreeing to move to third base in 2009, Andrus earned the starting job on opening day. Andrus stole his 20th base on July 28, 2009 in his rookie season. Andrus is the 10th player in major league history to steal 20 bases under the age of 21. The last player to do that was teammate Andruw Jones back in 1997 with the Atlanta Braves. The Road Kill don't appear to need a shortstop with Alexei Ramirez on the job but GRK has pulled surprises in the past and this could be another of them.

At this point the Road Kill Management has to be torn from their love of pitching and the need for a long term solution behind the plate. From a long term standpoint, Wieters makes the most sense as catchers like him don't come along everyday. The fact that GRK recently acquired Carlos Zambrano makes the need to pick a starter somewhat less likely, though most managers in NASBL will tell you that you never can have too much pitching. Who will GRK ultimately pick? Time will tell.