Diamondbacks prepared to make first No. 1 draft selection

“We feel that there is a very short list of guys that are impact-quality players,” scouting director Mike Rizzo said. “And since we pick No. 1, we plan on picking one of those players.”

With the team’s first No. 1 overall pick, the Diamondbacks were to start off the baseball draft Tuesday by selecting either Virginia high school shortstop Justin Upton, or one of three college right-handers: Craig Hansen of St. John’s, Wichita State’s Mike Pelfrey or Luke Hochevar of Tennessee.

While the Diamondbacks decided which of the four to take, other teams were keeping one eye on Arizona and another on their own draft boards.

“The anticipation is like Christmas,” Oakland scouting director Eric Kubota said. “Come June 7, you get to open the presents and see who we get.”

Upton, from Great Bridge High School in Virginia, was generally considered the top overall prospect in the draft. Regarded as a five-tool player, Upton could join his brother B.J., the No. 2 overall pick by Tampa Bay in 2002, as the highest-drafted set of siblings.

“Justin Upton is a marvelous athlete and I think he could play just about anywhere on the field,” Diamondbacks general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “He is just a whale of a baseball player.”

The Diamondbacks have some depth in their organization at shortstop, especially after the recent signing of Stephen Drew, their top pick last year. Arizona potentially could move Upton elsewhere on the field, or it could have gone after draft help for the pitching staff.

Hansen, one of the top college closers, is expected to move quickly through the minors with his 95 mph fastball and nasty slider. Pelfrey, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference pitcher of the year, and Hochevar, a Golden Spikes finalist and the ace of American gold medal-winning staff at the World University Games last summer, are both potential hard-throwing aces.

“I think all eyes are on us until we make the pick,” Rizzo said. “Then, all eyes are on the second pick, that’s how I look at it. It does have kind of a domino effect, but all the other teams are going to prepare for all scenarios also, like we’ve done in the past.”

Some of the other top players available included Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon, North Carolina high school outfielder Cameron Maybin, Long Beach State shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Virginia third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

“Going into the draft, I don’t think you have as many star-quality players as maybe over the last several years,” Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. “But with that said, there’s going to be as many major leaguers come out of this draft.”

This year — the draft’s 40th anniversary — marks the first time the selection order is based on the previous year’s record from worst to best, regardless of league. In past years, the picks alternated between leagues.

“It’s supposedly going to do what it was meant to do all along,” Rizzo said. “We’re happy the change was made this year because we get the first pick instead of the second pick.”

Kansas City, which would have had the No. 1 pick under the old format, still made its highest draft selection at No. 2. Seattle picked third, followed by Washington and Milwaukee to round out the top five.

Boston and St. Louis, both World Series teams last year, owned six picks in the first two rounds, mostly compensation selections as a result of losing free agents.

“For the world champion Boston Red Sox to have five or six picks between our first and second pick, something is not right,” LaMar said. “And that’s not blaming the Boston Red Sox. It has nothing to do with them. It has to do with the system I think has needed to be changed for years.”

Another major issue heading into the draft was the ability of teams to actually sign players they select. Agent Scott Boras is notorious for having drawn-out contract negotiations with teams, as evidenced by the holdouts of Drew and recently signed pitcher Jered Weaver, the Angels’ top pick last year.

“We’ve taken Boras clients before and we would take them again if we feel it’s the right player at the right time and the right fit,” Rizzo said.

Boras is again representing some of this year’s top players including Hansen, Hochevar, Pelfrey, Utah high school lefty Mark Pawelek and Georgia Tech shortstop Tyler Greene.

“Signability is always an issue, something you always look at and that we’ll continue to look at,” said Bob Fontaine, Seattle’s vice president of scouting. “Everybody has a budget.”

The draft lasts 50 rounds and is conducted through Wednesday by conference call. San Diego selected California high school shortstop Matt Bush with the first pick last year.