The Associated Press

NEW YORK - A handful of players are certain to be selected with the first picks of the baseball draft. How it shakes out after that is anyone's guess.

"It will never be an exact science," said Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar, whose team has the first selection today in baseball's first-year player draft.

"Every team in baseball has taken players high in the draft thinking they were made up one way and after four or five years, things change," he said. "That's the way our business is."

The Devil Rays appeared to be focused on Southern University second baseman Rickie Weeks and high school outfielders Delmon Young and Ryan Harvey.

"You're talking about three talented - physically talented - young kids and they all seem to have a work ethic," LaMar said.

The Devil Rays have the No. 1 pick for the second time - they selected high school outfielder Josh Hamilton in 1999. Milwaukee has the second pick Tuesday, followed by Detroit, San Diego and Kansas City. Seattle, Atlanta, Houston and Philadelphia don't have picks in the first round after signing Type A free agents.

Other players expected to be high picks include Wake Forest right-hander Kyle Sleeth, Richmond righty Tim Stauffer, Tulane first baseman Michael Aubrey, Florida high school outfielder Lastings Milledge, Massachusetts high school right-hander Jeff Allison and Texas high school lefty John Danks.

The ability to sign a drafted player is a major concern.

"The biggest thing that's changed is the signability - the way the signing bonuses have escalated," Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin said. "My first draft in 1985, I was scouting director of the Yankees, and I don't remember agents being involved. ... But now, they all have agents."

Teams have also shown a trend in recent years to lean toward college players, thinking that the risk is lower and they are closer to making an impact at the major league level.

"That's obviously a part of the decision-making process," Smith said. "I think you evaluate talent first because you want an impact player ... but we're also looking for a player's makeup and his signability."