Some really good stuff here, by Rich Lederer. Basically, it's a roundtable discussion with Jim Callis, John Manuel, and Alan Matthews from Baseball America.

"John: The Pirates really hope Vitters is there for them at No. 4 and that the Cubs look elsewhere, because Vitters fits well for them (though of course they also have Neil Walker, their 2004 first-round pick, in the minors at third base). He's a smooth hitter with significant power potential, and he was the best player on the summer showcase circuit in 2006; he rose to every occasion. The Pirates need hitters. More than anything they need to have a draft that goes more than one pick deep. I'm not a fan of their second-round picks the last few years, guys like Brad Corley and Mike Felix, and you build a good draft by having multiple players who end up reaching the big leagues.

Rich: If Vitters doesn't make it past the Cubs at No. 3, then who do you suppose the Pirates take at 4?

Alan: I wouldn't put it past Ed Creech to take the high school pitcher he thinks is the best on the board with this pick. If Porcello and Parker are both there, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucs jumped up and nabbed one of them. They've had some success drafting high school players in the first round recently (Andrew McCutchen, Walker), and while they have fortified their rotation with some nice lefthanders like Tom Gorzelanny and Paul Maholm, who had some college experience, I think Creech and his staff take ceiling over steadiness, and as attractive as Moskos and Detwiler would be (two other options with this pick).

Jim: I keep hearing Vitters is the guy the Pirates really want at No. 4. What Alan says is true, and most clubs will take the best guy available on their board regardless of any specific need, but I can't see Pittsburgh taking another college first-round pitcher when they've had trouble keeping them healthy (Bryan Bullington, John VanBenschoten, Brad Lincoln) and especially a lefty when they have Zach Duke, Gorzelanny and Maholm in their rotation. They need a hitter and I think they'll take one. The tough part is that there's no great fit. I don't see them spending for Wieters or a Boras guy, and who does that leave them? The best value then would be Georgia high school outfielder Jason Heyward, and while he'd make some sense, he'd be an overdraft. Lewis-Clark State slugger Beau Mills would be more of an overdraft, and a lot of guys view him as a DH. If Vitters is gone, it's tough to figure out Pittsburgh's pick.

Rich: If Wieters is still on the board at this point, does he become baseball's version of Brady Quinn where everyone begins to wonder just how far he might slide?

John: It sounds like the Pirates want to go hitter but not so badly that they want to draft a Boras client, so Wieters may be out of the mix there."

Some encouraging stuff further down about Mills, who's starting to seem like he might be the pick, and some props for my boy Heyward, who'd probably be my pick if I were restricted to non-Boras guys and the top three went Price-Porcello-Vitters.

Also, that section about the "draft that goes more than one pick deep" needs to be quoted for truth.

There's plenty of interesting non-Pirate stuff in the article, so go read the whole thing.