In addition to working for SB Nation Pittsburgh, I also host the Bucs Dugout Podcast with David Todd, and our latest episode features interviews with Jim Callis of Baseball America and Vlad of Bucs Dugout regarding the 2012 MLB Draft, which starts on Monday.
If anything, our conversations demonstrated the amount of uncertainty that still exists in the draft. After the first two picks, no one is particularly sure what's going to happen. There are seven prospects who most Pirates fans view as a cut above the rest (Byron Buxton, Mark Appel, Kevin Gausman, Carlos Correa, Kyle Zimmer, Mike Zunino and Albert Almora), and I think a lot of fans would be happy with any one of those seven. Of those, Almora and Zunino are the most likely to fall.
If those seven guys go with the first seven picks, California high school lefty pitcher Max Fried remains a strong possibility. But Vlad, at least, loves the idea of picking Fried's teammate Lucas Giolito, an incredibly high-upside pitcher who recently suffered an elbow injury. Then there's also Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero, who most Pirates don't want, and other possibilities as well. With so many variables in play, it's still very hard to tell what the Pirates will do at No. 8.
Be sure to check out SB Nation Pittsburgh's MLB Draft Primer.