McKeon, Beck to represent Marlins at Draft
MIAMI -- With four of the first 73 picks, including the sixth overall, the Marlins promise to be among the most active teams at the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.
At the three-day event, the Marlins will certainly have a high-profile representative.
Jack McKeon, who managed the organization's 2003 World Series title team, will once again be on hand at the MLB Network to kick off the Draft in the first week of June.
McKeon is one of three World Series-championship managers to represent his respective club. The others will be Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers) and Tony La Russa (MLB).
Lasorda, Jim Bunning (Phillies) and George Brett (Royals) will be the three Hall of Fame members at the Draft.
McKeon had two managerial stints with the Marlins, and he remains a special assistant in the organization. When it is time for Miami to make the sixth pick, it will be McKeon at the podium who reads the name.
Also representing the Marlins will be special assistant Bill Beck, the club's former director of team travel.
The 2013 First-Year Player Draft will take place June 6-8, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB.com and MLB Network on Thursday, June 6, at 6 p.m. ET. Live Draft coverage from MLB Network's Studio 42 begins at 7 p.m., with the top 73 picks being streamed on MLB.com and broadcast on MLB Network. Rounds 3-10 will be streamed live on MLB.com on June 7, beginning with a preview show at 12:30 p.m., and Rounds 11-40 will be streamed live on MLB.com on June 8, starting at 1 p.m.
MLB.com's coverage includes Draft Central, the Top 100 Draft Prospects list and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of Draft-eligible players. You can also keep up to date by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.
A couple of former Marlins will be representing other organizations. Ivan Rodriguez, the catcher on the '03 team, will be seated at the Rangers' table, and Luis Gonzalez will be with the D-backs.
The Marlins last picked as high as sixth in 2008 when they selected catcher Kyle Skipworth sixth. A year ago, the club took left-hander Andrew Heaney at No. 9 overall.
Each of the 30 MLB teams will have an esteemed representative at the First-Year Player Draft. The list is headlined by the three Hall of Famers, 25 All-Stars, four Most Valuable Players and three World Series-winning managers.
The current Marlins feature Jose Fernandez, the team's first-round Draft pick in 2011. The 20-year-old was selected 14th overall, and he reached the big leagues without previously pitching higher than Class A.
Miami's 2010 top pick, Christian Yelich, is at Double-A Jacksonville, and the left-handed-hitting outfielder could be a few weeks away from getting his big league promotion.