Eighteen of the 30 first round draft picks have begun their professional careers, ranging from one game in the case of Tim Alderson to 51 games by early signee Beau Mills.

I thought it would be interesting to see how the first rounders are doing. I have compiled the stats for the pitchers first, followed by the position players. All listings are in the order of how players were drafted.

                      W  L   ERA   IP    H   R  ER  HR   BB  SO  WHIP   SO/9  K/BB
Moskos     asx,ROK    0  0  4.00   9.1  15   5   4   1    2   8  1.82   7.71  4.00
Detwiler   H-A,ROK    1  2  4.50  24.1  30  12  12   2    8  23  1.56   8.51  2.88
Weathers   L-A        0  0  3.80   9.2   3   4   4   1    4  16  0.72  14.90  4.00
Savery     asx        0  1  3.86   9.2  10   4   4   0    3   5  1.35   4.66  1.67  
Withrow    ROK        0  0  5.60   8.0   5   5   5   0    4  12  1.13  13.50  3.00
Alderson   ROK        0  0  0.00   1.0   1   0   0   0    0   2  1.00  18.00  ----
Schmidt    L-A        0  1  6.43   7.0   8   5   5   0    6   6  2.00   7.71  1.00
Main       ROK,asx    1  1  3.70  20.0  16   8   8   2   10  28  1.30  12.60  2.80
Poreda     ROK        2  0  1.25  36.1  25   6   5   1    9  35  0.94   8.67  3.80
Simmons    AA         0  0  5.79  23.2  33  17  15   2    5  20  1.61   7.61  4.00         

Aaron Poreda (2-0, 1.25 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 3.80 K/BB), selected with the 25th overall pick by the Chicago White Sox, has performed the best of all the first round pitchers to date. However, recognize that the 20-year-old lefthander out of the University of San Francisco has worked his magic at Great Falls in the Pioneer League (Rookie). I wouldn't put much stock in his numbers until he makes the jump to at least Low-A, which is where most highly regarded college pitchers start their pro careers.

Casey Weathers (COL) has enjoyed success, allowing only three hits while striking out 16 batters in 9 2/3 innings for the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League (Low-A). Chris Withrow (LAD) and Michael Main (TEX) have shown spurts of dominance, averaging well over one K per inning. Main has already been promoted to the Spokane Indians (Short Season).

                      G   AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS SB CS
LaPorta    L-A,ROK   17   66  10  18  7  0  4  12   5  20  .273  .324  .561  .885  0  0
Mills      L-A,asx   51  201  37  52 14  1  5  36  17  44  .259  .330  .413  .743  0  0
Heyward    ROK        4   16   1   6  4  0  1   3   2   4  .375  .444  .813 1.257  0  1
Mesoraco   ROK       34  116  14  25  3  0  1   7  14  22  .216  .316  .267  .583  2  0
Ahrens     ROK       43  147  14  33  5  0  3  18  23  41  .224  .337  .320  .657  3  0
Kozma      ROK       27   94  19  25  5  0  2   9  12  18  .266  .361  .383  .744  3  1
Arencibia  asx       48  175  24  45 12  0  3  21  11  44  .257  .305  .377  .682  0  0
Revere     ROK       45  173  41  55  5  9  0  22  10  17  .318  .372  .451  .823 19  8 

Jason Heyward, chosen by the Atlanta Braves with the 14th overall pick, is off to a hot start. The 17-year-old outfielder has gone 6-for-16 with five XBH in his first four games for the GCL Braves of the Gulf Coast League (Rookie). Don't be surprised if he ends up as one of the top players out of the 2007 draft.

Ben Revere, the surprise first round choice of the Minnesota Twins, has put up some unusual numbers. The 5-foot-9 speester has hit 9 triples and stolen 19 bases in 45 games for the GCL Twins (Rookie). With only 10 BB and 17 SO, Revere has done little to convince me that he is not another Juan Pierre in the making. The outfielder has yet to go yard so I would discount those pre-draft reports in which he allegedly slugged a 450-foot homer.

Devin Mesoraco (CIN) has struggled the most, hitting just .216/.316/.267. His stock rose late last spring, and it's possible that he may have been a reach at #15. Toronto's first two selections – Kevin Ahrens and J.P. Arencibia – have combined to strike out 85 times in 322 at-bats.

Twelve first rounders have yet to play. In the order of how they were drafted, David Price (TB), Mike Moustakas (KC), Josh Vitters (CHC), Matt Wieters (BAL), Jarrod Parker (ARI), Madison Bumgarner (SF), Phillippe Aumont (SEA), Matt Dominguez (FLA), Blake Beavan (TEX), Rick Porcello (DET), Wendell Fairley (SF), and Andrew Brackman (NYY) are all signed but still awaiting their professional debuts. For the most part, the recent signees just reported to spring training facilities and many of them will not play until the instructional league opens in mid-September.