Harper seems headed for our nation's capital

Baseball Betting Lines

06/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft gets underway on June 7th, with the Washington Nationals holding the top pick for the second straight year.

It is just the second time since the inception of the draft in 1965 that a team has had the No. 1 overall selection in consecutive years, as Tampa Bay chose David Price and Tim Beckham with the top picks in 2007-08.

Until the most recent basic agreement took effect in 2005, the top pick had alternated annually between the leagues.

Of course, Washington selected arguably the best pitching prospect ever in Steven Strasburg with the first selection last year. Strasburg, who is scheduled to make his big league debut the day after the start of this year's draft, could be joined soon by another phenom in 17-year-old slugging catcher Bryce Harper.

The consensus best player available in this year's draft, Harper has already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and has been dubbed the "LeBron James of Baseball". As per agent Scott Boras' advice, Harper skipped his final two years of high school, received his GED and enrolled in a wood-bat junior college league to get him in the draft a year early.

Despite being just 17 years old, Harper starred for the College of Southern Nevada, hitting .442 with 29 home runs, 89 RBI, 88 runs scored, an .986 slugging percentage and a .524 on-base-percentage through 62 games.

Scouts differ on where he will play at the next level. Some say he is fine where he is behind the plate, while others feel he will either outgrow the position or that his bat will be too good to hold him back, with the thinking that a move to third base or right field could get him to the majors quicker.

Harper's legend grew last summer, when at the 2009 International Power Showcase at Tropicana Field, he hit the longest home run in the building's history at 502 feet, albeit with a metal bat.

Should he indeed go to the Nationals, Harper will be the first catcher selected with the first pick since Minnesota made reigning American League Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer the top overall selection in 2001.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the second pick, followed by the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. The Arizona Diamondbacks select sixth, with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics completing the top 10.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hold three first-round picks (18, 29, 30) and will make five of the first 40 selections. The Texas Rangers, Astros and Tampa Bay Rays also hold multiple picks in round one.

As usual, pitching will dominate the first round, with prep right-hander Jameson Taillon and Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz both expected to go early on. Also, South Florida high schooler Manny Machado, who has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez, is also expected to be gone in the top five.

Once again the draft will take place over three days. The first day will consist of the first 50 picks, including Round One and Compensation Round A. There will be five minutes between first-round picks and one minute between all other selections.

On Tuesday, June 8th, the Draft will resume in the second round at 12:00 p.m. (EDT) and will be tentatively scheduled to go through the 30th round. The draft will then conclude on Wednesday, June 9th, which is set to cover the 31st-50th rounds and will begin again at 12:00 p.m. (EDT).

The inaugural Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held in New York in 1965. The selection rotation is determined by the clubs' reverse order of their won-lost records at the close of the previous regular season, regardless of league.

There will be 50 rounds in the draft and it will finish after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection in the 50th round, whichever comes first.

Former No. 1 overall selections include current major leaguers Ken Griffey, Jr. (1987), Chipper Jones (1990), Rodriguez (1993), Josh Hamilton (1999), Adrian Gonzalez (2000), Mauer (2001), and Price (2007).

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.