Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft will take place on Thursday at 2:00 (et), with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays holding the first pick for the second straight year.

Unfortunately for fans in Tampa, this marks the fourth time the Rays will have the top selection since entering the league in 1998. Only the San Diego Padres and New York Mets, with five tries each, have had the top pick more often.

The team selected outfielder Josh Hamilton No. 1 in 1999 and used the top overall pick on another outfielder, Delmon Young, in 2003 before selecting Vanderbilt lefty David Price with the first selection last year.

This also marks the first time in the history of the draft, which began in 1965, that the same club has had the top overall pick in consecutive years. Until the most recent basic agreement took effect in 2005, the top pick alternated annually between the leagues.

However, the Rays' stay at the top of the draft order may be coming to an end, as they currently sit atop the American League East and are tied for the league lead with 35 wins. They trail the Chicago Cubs by a game for the best overall mark in baseball and if the Rays overtake them by Thursday they will become the first team to ever make the No. 1 overall selection while holding baseball's best record.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the second pick, followed by the Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants. The Florida Marlins select sixth, with Cincinnati, the White Sox, Washington and the Houston Astros completing the top 10.

The New York Mets and Minnesota Twins each have two first-round choices and three picks apiece within the top 33.

Pitching usually dominates early on in the first round, but that will likely not be the case this year. This draft is not considered to be as deep in that regard as in years past, especially at the prep level. In fact, five or six players could be off the board before a pitcher is taken, and it might be a while until a high school arm is selected.

Also -- unlike Price last year -- there is not a clear-cut No. 1 pick among this year's crop.

Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez seems to be the consensus best player in the draft, but the Rays are likely to pass due to his association with super-agent Scott Boras, who has already stated that he will be seeking a $7 million signing bonus - nearly $1 1/2 million more than Price received last year - as well as a big league contract. Not to mention that Tampa Bay has one of the best young third baseman in baseball in Evan Longoria.

Alvarez, though, is considered to be the best college hitter since Alex Gordon, who Kansas City selected with the No. 2 overall selection back in 2005. He was limited a little bit this season because of a hand injury, but still managed to hit .317 with nine home runs and 30 RBI in 40 games for the Commodores.

Over his first three collegiate seasons, Alvarez batted .349 with 49 home runs in 170 games.

So if Alvarez is not the guy for the Rays, then they will likely take high school shortstop Tim Beckham, who specifically opted against signing with Boras due to the agent's reputation around the league.

Considered the top high school prospect in this year's class, Beckham is a five-tool talent whose athleticism and elite skill set has evoked comparisons to ex-Cincinnati great Barry Larkin.

Florida State catcher Buster Posey, who drew national recognition earlier in the year when he played all nine positions in a game for the Seminoles, could be an option for the Rays and is considered to be the safest pick in the entire draft.

Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow or San Diego lefty Brian Matusz figure to be the first pitchers off the board. Baltimore has been linked to Crow at No. 4, while Matusz likely won't make it out of the top 10.

For the second straight year the draft will be televised, as ESPN2 will carry the event from Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. Each team's first-round pick will be televised and all clubs will have a maximum of five minutes to make their selections.

The inaugural Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held in New York in 1965. The selection rotation is determined by the clubs' reverse order of their won-lost records at the close of the previous regular season, regardless of league.

There will be 50 rounds in the draft, and it will finish after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection in the 50th round, whichever comes first. The draft will be completed late Friday.

Former No. 1 picks include current major leaguers Ken Griffey, Jr. (1987), Chipper Jones (1990), Alex Rodriguez (1993), Paul Wilson (1994), Darin Erstad (1995), Kris Benson (1996), Pat Burrell (1998) and Joe Mauer (2001).