If your home leagues have a minor league draft (and really they should – so much fun to manage that part of building a franchise), you need to be prepared for Thursday evening.

Get a hall pass at home, stock the refrigerator and snack drawer, have a pizza delivered or put one in your own oven. In short, do everything to make sure you have Thursday evening set up so you are ready to watch the first two rounds of the MLB First-Year Player Draft live at 7 PM ET on the MLB Network.

If you are familiar with the names or resumes of the top draft prospects, you want to make a note about which team they are going to. If not, you will get a great introduction to several future major league stars – maybe even players on your fantasy teams. If you want some really good information before the draft, the MLB Network has a one-hour special that will introduce you to the top-50 prospects.

Of course there are several mock drafts out there, but the reality is that no one knows exactly how this draft will unfold. Will the Houston Astros try and save money again by getting their first-round pick to sign for the low end of the range allotted? This would save precious draft dollars they might use to increase their offers to other draft picks, especially when some of the high school players have college commitments that you want to buy them out of.

Will Oklahoma University’s Jonathan Gray, thought to be going first or second in this draft, have his first contract lowered by sliding down the first round due to a failed drug test for using Adderall? MLB clubs wouldn’t care much IF he has a physical condition that would give him an exemption for that medicine but will they have enough time do all the research?

Will Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea, who was widely considered one of the top pitching prospects coming into this year, drop out of the first round due to medical concerns about a hip injury which caused him to miss almost all of this season?

This is even more interesting in my AL-only keeper league, where we get five minor league draft picks each year and many of the owners in the league are willing to risk a pick on a player who is very highly regarded. The down side of course is that such a player might be drafted by an NL team, so you have nothing to show for the pick. But the flip side is that Manny Machado was drafted several years before he was in the draft and I drafted Mike Trout after he was drafted by the Angels and played in the Arizona Rookie League, where I got to see him play in person a year before his breakout minor league season.

Among this year’s draft prospects, all of these players are already rostered in my AL league:

Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford University

Kris Bryant, 3B, University of San Diego

Jonathan Gray, RHP, Oklahoma University

Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State University

Colin Moran, 3B, University of North Carolina

Clint Frazier, OF, Loganville High School, Georgia

Austin Meadows, OF, Grayson High School, Georgia

Kohl Stewart, RHP, St. Pius X High School, Texas

Ryne Stanek, RHP, Arkansas University

Of course none of these are on my Farm Roster, so hopefully NL clubs will grab all of them. {jcomments on}

Perry will be posting live comments on the MLB Draft on Thursday evening in the Prospects and Minor League Discussion Forum