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In the final mock for me, I still have the Rays taking Tim Beckham with the No. 1 overall pick, and if the rumors are true that have the Pirates taking Alvarez with the second pick, things get interesting right away.

After 10 minutes, Florida State catcher Buster Posey (Pictured at right) is looking for a home with no obvious destination. I have him going seventh to the Cincinnati Reds, but if he doesn’t go first or second, who knows where he ends up, though it’s difficult to believe he’d fall too far.

My reasoning for sticking with Beckham No. 1 is two-fold: One, Beckham is the choice of the Rays’ scouting director R.J. Harrison while the GM and VP of Baseball Operations prefers Posey, and I would like to think they’d trust their scouting director when all is said and done.

After all, that’s what you want the Mariners to do, right?

Tampa Bay has tons of pitching and either pick makes sense for them, but their decision will likely be based on whether they think Beckham is a potential superstar or merely a good everyday shortstop who does a little bit of everything.

If Posey is available, Kansas City could snag him at No. 3, but it also makes a lot of sense for them to snuggle up next to another Scott Boras client such as Eric Hosmer. If Posey is the pick, Hosmer would likely fall to Texas at No. 10, if not further.

With pick No. 4, Baltimore is likely to have their choice of either of the Beckhams, or Posey and Gordon Beckham, as well as left-hander Brian Matusz and first baseman Justin Smoak.

Considering the even grades between the two players on most teams’ draft boards, I have the Orioles taking Smoak, filling an organizational weakness as well as taking the best player available.

If Smoak is off the board at five, the Giants will shed a billion tears and then probably take Gordon Beckham. San Francisco could also tab Posey here, if he was available. Brett Wallace is also a possibility, and while they desperately need position talent, Matusz and right-hander Aaron Crow should not be completely out of the question.

The Marlins, as usual, are likely to take the best prep player not named Tim Beckham with the No. 6 pick - even if Beckham is there, which is possible if Tampa goes with Posey and the next four are Alvarez, Hosmer, Smoak, Matusz/G. Beckham.

Skipworth to Florida makes a lot of sense.

The White Sox could go with Crow or Matusz in this scenario, but may be able to get the best player available and draft for need at the same time with Brett Wallace. The Sox could also agree to pay Yonder Alonso.

I think they go offense and take Wallace, planning to play him at first with Konerko at DH as Thome is phased out.

With Skipworth off the board here, Special assistant Bob Boone is overruled by default and the Nats likely tab Crow or Matusz with No. 9, and Houston is happy to take whichever of the two the Nationals don’t.

Texas and Boras hook up again and find top prep pitcher Gerrit Cole a home and left-hander Christian Friedrich slides in perfectly with the Oakland A’s at No. 12.

The Cardinals seem locked in, at least to me, on Aaron Hicks (left), Tim Melville or Zach Collier, and I have them opting for the center field prospect Collier.

With Hicks telling teams he won’t sign as a pitcher, the Twins, worried about Francisco Liriano’s future and just having re-upped with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, as well as trading for Carlos Gomez and Delmon Young, opt for the pitcher here in Martin over the outfielder in Hicks.

Even though Dodgers’ scouting director Logan White loves the high-ceiling prep arms, Hicks is too good to pass up here at No. 15.

Milwaukee might have to take Josh Fields and get him in their bullpen by early August in order to have a shot in the NL Central this year, and if he’s closing games for them down the stretch, it was worth the pick at No. 16.

If Alonso or Wallace are on the board at 17, Toronto, long after the college player, is likely to take advantage.

With the first of two picks over the next five selections, the Mets get their catcher of the future in Jason Castro. They could also go for Melville here and hope Castro is available at No. 22, and there’s talk that they’d like to get two bats in round one and wait on the pitchers, which would suggest they could be thinking Lawrie or Kelley at 18 as well.

With no major holes to fill in their bullpen, shockingly, the Cubs may stay away from Andrew Cashner and take the best player available in shortstop Casey Kelly. Kelly interests Seattle, too, but they see him as as a bit of a tough sign after he committed to play quarterback at Tennessee.

No other club appears to be that concerned with Kelly’s college commitment.

In this scenario, I see the M’s taking Melville (right), clearly the best player available, and probably on every single team board at this point.

Seattle’s team doctors, however, have studied and analyzed the paperwork and tests on Fresno State right-hander Tanner Scheppers and have told the front office that he should be fine and would feel comfortable endorsing the selection medically.

Scheppers began the spring as a top 10 talent but multiple exams revealed an impingement in his right shoulder. These impingements are known to occasionally cause small tears in the labrum, which is typically death to pitchers as we know them.

With the typical impingement, which basically means to put pressure on, scrape against or rub, the acromion, which is the front most edge of the clavicle, “impinges” the rotator cuff, causing stiffness and minor pain.

In most cases, however, rest and supervised physical therapy are enough. In some cases, however, the x-ray called an ‘outlet view’ reveals a bone spur in the area, which endangers the rotator cuff further.

The weaker the joint becomes during the whole process, the more a tear in the labrum becomes possible.

In any case, the Mariners clearly do not prefer to draft a college reliever, and if Hicks, Kelly, Scheppers and Melville are not available, they’d consider Zach Collier, Yonder Alonso (yes, they would, they have spoken internally about it over the past 48 hours), and Brett Lawrie.

Lawrie has an up-the-middle bat but the only position up the middle he might be able to play is second base, though there are a few scouts that aren’t completely convinced he can’t catch (most of the scouts I trust say he’s not a catcher).

He could play any of the corner spots, but his bat doesn’t profile quite that well.

Lance Lynn is indeed an option for the Mariners, as I was told very early this morning that “the way things (negotiations) ended a few years back mean nothing to either side this time around. We’re open to all options if the player is the one we want.”

I have also heard rumblings that the Mariners are considering Reese Havens and Jemile Weeks at No. 20, because they are getting a few calls on second baseman Jose Lopez, who is having a decent year thanks to a recent hot streak.

In the end, if Scheppers (left) or Melville is the pick, don’t be disappointed. Melville has better stuff than Chris Tillman - right now, even - and if the doctors did their homework and don’t see a reason for long term concern, well, that’s what they are hired for, I guess.

It’s still better than drafting a reliever in round one, especially with so many readily available in round two.

2008 Mock Draft 4.0
No. BPA* Team Pick
1 Tim Beckham, SS Tampa Bay Devil Rays
 Tim Beckham, SS
2 Justin Smoak, 1B
 Pittsburgh Pirates
 Pedro Alvarez, 3B
3 Eric Hosmer, 1B
 Kansas City Royals
 Eric Hosmer, 1B
4 Pedro Alvarez, 3B
 Baltimore Orioles
 Justin Smoak, 1B
5 Aaron Crow, RHP
 San Francisco Giants
 Gordon Beckham, SS
6 Buster Posey, C
 Florida Marlins
 Kyle Skipworth, C
7 Gordon Beckham, SS Cincinnati Reds
 Buster Posey, C
8 Brian Matusz, LHP Chicago White Sox Brett Wallace, 1B
9 Gerrit Cole, RHP
 Washington Nationals
 Aaron Crow, RHP
10 Christian Friedrich, LHP
 Houston Astros
 Brian Matusz, LHP
11 Brett Wallace, 1B
 Texas Rangers
 Gerrit Cole, RHP
12 Aaron Hicks, RF/RHP Oakland Athletics Christian Friedrich, LHP
13 Kyle Skipworth, C
 St. Louis Cardinals
 Zach Collier, OF
14 Tim Melville, RHP
 Minnesota Twins
 Ethan Martin, RHP
15 Yonder Alonso, 1B
 Los Angeles Dodgers Aaron Hicks, RF
16 Casey Kelly, SS/RHP
 Milwaukee Brewers
 Josh Fields, RHP
17 Ethan Martin, RHP/3B
 Toronto Blue Jays
 Yonder Alonso, 1B
18 Jason Castro, C New York Mets
 Jason Castro, C
19 Zach Collier, OF
 Chicago Cubs
 Casey Kelly, RHP
20 Jake Odorizzi, RHP Seattle Mariners
 Tim Melville, RHP
21 Josh Fields, RHP
 Detroit Tigers
 Andrew Cashner, RHP
22 Shooter Hunt, RHP
 New York Mets
 Jake Odorizzi, RHP
23 Andrew Cashner, RHP
 San Diego Padres Lance Lynn, RHP
24 Lance Lynn, RHP Philadelphia Phillies
 Aaron Weatherford, RHP
25 Reese Havens, SS Colorado Rockies
 Robbie Ross, LHP
26 Conor Gillaspie, 3B
 Arizona Diamondbacks Conor Gillaspie, 3B
27 Niko Vazquez, 2B Minnesota Twins
 Brett Lawrie, 2B/RF
28 Jemile Weeks, 2B New York Yankees
 Alex Meyer, RHP
29 Aaron Weatherford, RHP
 Cleveland Indians
 Jemile Weeks, 2B
30 Robbie Ross, LHP Boston Red Sox Reese Havens, SS