Who's No. 1? Strasburg; Leake goes No. 8 to Reds

It had been expected for months, and now it's official:

The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg this afternoon with the first pick in the MLB draft. It completes Strasburg's remarkable rise — from undrafted three years ago out of West Hills High to an exclusive group of 45 players selected No. 1 overall.

More local flavor came to the draft a few minutes later when the Cincinnati Reds chose Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake (Fallbrook High) with the eighth overall pick. Not a bad week in the making for Leake (16-1, 1.23 ERA), who leads the nation in victories and ERA is expected to be on the mound when the Sun Devils open the College World Series on Sunday against North Carolina.

Here is the list of San Diego-area players selected in the first round of the draft through the years:

LOCAL FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS

High school and college players from San Diego County selected in thefirst round of the major league first-year player draft since it began in 1965:

2009 ... Stephen Strasburg, SDSU/West Hills, RHP, Nationals, 1st overall

2009 ... Mike Leake, Arizona State/Fallbrook, RHP, Reds, 8th

2008 … Brian Matusz, USD, LHP, Orioles, 4th

2008 … Allan Dykstra, Wake Forest/Rancho Bernardo, 1B, Padres, 23rd

2004 … Matt Bush, Mission Bay, SS/RHP, Padres, 1st

2003 … Carlos Quentin, OF, Stanford/USDHS, D-Backs, 29th

2002 … Cole Hamels, Rancho Bernardo, LHP, Phillies, 17th

2002 … Royce Ring, SDSU/Monte Vista, RHP, White Sox, 18th

2001 … Mark Prior, USC/USDHS, RHP, Cubs, 2nd

2000 … Adrian Gonzalez, Eastlake, 1B, Marlins, 1st

2000 … Adam Johnson, CS Fullerton/Torrey Pines, RHP, Twins, 2nd

2000 … Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo, RHP, Tigers, 8th

2000 … Shaun Boyd, Vista, 2B/OF, Cardinals, 13th

2000 … Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo, C, Rangers, 25th

1999 … Eric Munson, USC/Mt. Carmel, C, Tigers, 3rd

1999 … Barry Zito, USC/USDHS, LHP, A's, 9th

1999 … David Walling, Arkansas/El Capitan, RHP, Yankees, 27th

1997 … Troy Glaus, UCLA/Carlsbad, 3B, Angels, 3rd

1996 … Travis Lee,* San Diego State, 1B, Twins, 2nd

1996 … Eric Chavez, Mt. Carmel, 3B, A's, 10th

1995 … Jaime Jones, Rancho Bernardo, OF, Marlins, 6th

1995 … Mark Redman, Oklahoma/Escondido, LHP, Twins, 13th

1995 … Ryan Jaroncyk, Orange Glen, SS, Mets, 18th

1995 … Chad Hutchinson, Torrey Pines, RHP, Braves, 26th

1992 … Benji Grigsby, San Diego State, RHP, A's, 20th

1991 … Benji Gil, Castle Park, SS, Rangers, 19th

1990 … Tony Clark, Christian, 1B, Tigers, 2nd

1990 … Eric Christopherson, San Diego State, C, Giants, 19th

1990 … Lance Dickson, Grossmont, LHP, Cubs, 23rd

1985 … Chris Gwynn, San Diego State, OF, Dodgers, 10th

1983 … Eddie Williams, Hoover, 3B, Mets, 4th

1982 … Steve Swain, Grossmont, OF, Astros, 15th

1982 … Sam Horn, Morse, 1B, Red Sox, 16th

1981 … Bobby Meacham, San Diego State, SS, Cardinals, 8th

1981 … Kevin Burrell, Poway, C, Red Sox, 25th

1980 … Garry Harris, Hoover, SS, Blue Jays, 2nd

1980 … Cecil Espy, Point Loma, OF, White Sox, 8th

1980 … Billy Beane, Mt. Carmel, OF, Mets, 23rd

1979 … Bob Geren, Clairemont, C, Padres, 24th

1975 … Bruce Robinson, Stanford/La Jolla, C, A's, 21st

1970 … Steve Dunning, Stanford/USDHS, RHP, Indians, 2nd

1970 … John D'Acquisto, St. Augustine, RHP, Giants, 17th

1967 … Brian Bickerton, Santana, LHP, A's, 7th

1965 … Mike Adamson,# Point Loma, RHP, Phillies, 18th

*Declared a draft free agent and signed with Arizona

#Drafted by Baltimore in first round of June secondary phase in 1967