The MLB Draft Combine starts Tuesday in Phoenix but you can put together your top picks for the mid-July draft without dissecting the festivities.The top of the draft is filled with elite college batters and two superb college hurlers. There's also a probable high school position player in the top 10.Of course, no matter how impressive the prospect, there's no guarantee the player will pan out.After all, it was easy to tell Stephen Strasburg should be the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 but Mike Trout wasn't selected until No. 25. Guys named Donavan Tate, Tony Sanchez and Matt Hobgood went 3, 4 and 5 overall.Here's a half-dozen players to know and another on the rise:Oregon State 2B Travis BazzanaThe left-handed hitter is viewed as the favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Guardians. The Australian-born Bazzana batted .407 this season and smacked a school-record 28 homers, while also setting Beavers' career marks of 45 long balls and 251 hits. He won't need much minor league seasoning.Georgia OF Charlie CondonThe Dick Howser Trophy winner leads the nation in batting average (.443) and homers (37) and could push Bazzana for the No. 1 slot. He also can play third base and first base and has a superb throwing arm. Condon wasn't selected after his high school career but he's highly regarded now.Florida 1B/LHP Jac CaglianoneThe left-handed-hitting slugger could go No. 3 overall to the Colorado Rockies and someday play in the Mile High air. He smacked a homer in nine consecutive games earlier this season and his 33 blasts share the school record he set last season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 and his arm has bounced back well but his bat is his ticket to the majors.Wake Forest RHP Chase BurnsHe transferred from Tennessee after last season and flourished in 2024 with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings. Burns went 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA and held opposing batters to a .175 average. His pitching arsenal has always stood out and his command has improved.Arkansas LHP Hagen SmithThe other top-flight starter, his stock rose in February after he struck out 17 in six innings against Oregon State. Overall, he fanned 161 in just 84 innings while limiting hitters to a .144 average. Smith also fools batters by dropping to a three-quarters delivery.Jackson Prep (Flowood, Miss.) SS Konnor GriffinConsidered a potential five-tool prospect with his combination of power, strength and speed. Griffin turned 18 and already stands 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and figures to get even stronger. Some team will be just fine with waiting until 2027 to see Griffin in the majors but he will have leverage due to the college offer he accepted from LSU.Tennessee 2B Christian MooreA player pegged for the middle of the first round, Moore has picked a great time to make an impact. Moore became the second player in Men's College World Series history to hit for the cycle in the Volunteers' first game and then made a stunning defensive play in which he displayed range, athleticism and arm strength in the second game. He is batting .384 with a school-record 33 homers and everything about him says "future major leaguer." Relatedfootball prop bettingbet on nfl gamesncaa football sportsbookstop nba betting sitesbets on mlbsafe nhl betting sitesufc betsbest online soccer betting sitesbest copa america betting sites
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Ajax star Donny van de Beek confirmed Real Madrid are in talks with the Eredivisie champions over his transfer.
Van de Beek has emerged as a €60million target for LaLiga giants Madrid, who have been unable to prise Paul Pogba from Manchester United.
The 22-year-old Van de Beek confirmed Madrid s interest on Friday, and he provided an update following Saturday s 2-2 draw away to Vitesse.
It is true that Madrid are in talks with Ajax, but I can t say any more, Van de Beek told Fox Sports after scoring and providing an assist in the club s Eredivisie opener.
My agent will have spoken with them. Real Madrid are a great club to play for, but Ajax are still a great club. We ll see what happens.
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)
Van d…
Manchester City set a new Premier League record goals tally of 104 courtesy of Bernardo Silva s effort against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
With two goals in the opening 34 minutes against Brighton, champions City surpassed Chelsea s 2009-10 effort of 103 to take ownership of the milestone outright.
Danilo put Pep Guardiola s side ahead 16 minutes into proceedings at the Etihad Stadium and, after an equaliser from Leonardo Ulloa, Silva notched the milestone strike.
It is another feather in the cap for Guardiola s supreme side, who have netted the highest amount of goals by any side in the English top flight since Tottenham scored 111 in 1962-63.
104 Man City now hold the outright record for most goals in a single Premier League campaign. Champio…
Pep Guardiola has described Manchester City as Champions League teenagers and warns they cannot take their place in the quarter-finals for granted ahead of Tuesday s game with Schalke.
City hold a 3-2 lead from the first leg of the last 16 and are expected to progress against a side who sit 14th in the Bundesliga and lost 4-2 to Werder Bremen last Friday.
Despite their impressive domestic success since the Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in 2008, City have yet to progress beyond the semi-final stage in Europe s elite competition and Guardiola has suggested previously that they are not ready to win it.
Speaking on Monday, he conceded they are a long way from matching the continental success of the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, who have eight titles between t…
Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini has challenged Nicolo Barella to take the next step in his career by adding more goals to his game after scoring in Friday s 2-0 win at Fiorentina.
The Italy international curled in a delightful opener after 31 minutes at Stadio Artemio Franchi and Ivan Perisic added a second as Inter moved top of Serie A.
Barella, who was earlier denied by a fine Bartlomiej Dragowski save, now has three goals and five assists in 21 league outings this term.
That makes 2020-21 the midfielder s best Serie A season in terms of goal involvements, though he did net six times for Cagliari in the 2017-18 season.
Stellini, who was filling in for suspended head coach Antonio Conte against Fiorentina, hopes to see Barella build on those figu…
Edinson Cavani has a lot of options regarding his potential destination when the transfer window opens, according to his mother.
The 33-year-old signed for Paris Saint-Germain from Napoli back in 2013, and between then and now he has scored 200 goals in 301 appearances in all competitions for the French champions. However, this season he fell down the pecking order after the arrival of Mauro Icardi from Inter Milan on loan, and he was heavily linked with Atletico Madrid in January. The move reportedly collapsed with the La Liga side unwilling to match PSG s demands, and his contract is now set to expire this summer.
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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 900th career goal, but the Portugal captain claimed he is haunted by records.
Ronaldo scored his landmark goal in the 34th minute of Thursday s Nations League contest between Portugal and Croatia in Lisbon.
The 39-year-old s close-range finish, his 131st goal for Portugal, was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Roberto Martinez s team, who went ahead through Diogo Dalot, although the full-back then scored an own goal that dragged Croatia back into proceedings.
Ronaldo was taken off late on to a standing ovation, and speaking to Portuguese media, he said: It was an exciting goal for me. It s a round number.
Only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.
It s a unique milestone in my career. I d…
Lazio have completed the signing of Pepe Reina after Milan reportedly agreed to the cancellation of his contract.
The 38-year-old Spanish goalkeeper had a year left to run on his deal at San Siro, but it is said to have been terminated in order to allow him to move to the Italian capital.
Lazio have not confirmed the length of his contract in Rome, though Italian media claim it is a two-year deal.
Reina, a former Spain international, spent the second part of 2019-20 on loan at Aston Villa in the Premier League but returned to Milan upon its conclusion.
A move to Lazio – who will be his third club in Italy – had been mooted for several weeks and it was finally confirmed on Thursday.
The former Liverpool keeper has been well-travelled since his…
Diogo Dalot scored his first goal for Manchester United and there were rare strikes from Harry Maguire and Jesse Lingard as the Red Devils routed Tranmere Rovers 6-0 to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.
A goal glut and a morale-boosting victory was just what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men needed after suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats, and the United boss watched a fluent performance from his charges despite a cut-up pitch at Prenton Park.
Maguire opened the floodgates with a long-range strike into the top corner and goals from Dalot and Lingard soon followed to put the visitors 3-0 up inside 16 minutes.
Phil Jones headed United s fourth and Anthony Martial s deflected shot made it 5-0 before Mason Greenwood scored a penalty in the second half to wra…
Manchester City are interested in signing Marcus Rashford from city rivals Manchester United, according to . The report has claimed that City manager Pep Guardiola is a fan of Rashford and would like him in his squad at the Etihad Stadium.
Rashford is part of the United first team and came through the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners’ youth system. The 26-year-old England international forward has struggled to play at his best in recent years and needs to step up his game.
City and United are bitter rivals, and a potential transfer of Rashford from the Red Devils to the Etihad Stadium would be a shock. The English forward has scored 83 goals and given 39 assists in 275 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. United are aiming to …
Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich this summer, before he made the move to Liverpool, but they ended up signing his brother instead.
Thiago and Rafinha Alcantara are brothers, but while Rafinha represents Brazil at international level, Thiago plays for Spain. And according to their father Mazinho, PSG sporting director Leonardo wanted Thiago very much.
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