As expected, Gordon Beckham and Josh Fields were taken early in the first round of Thursday’s Major League Baseball draft.

• Beckham was drafted 8th overall by the Chicago White Sox.
• Fields improved on his second-round selection of a year ago by being selected 20th overall by the Seattle Mariners. Atlanta’s loss is Seattle’s gain.

With their futures certain now, here’s hoping that these Bulldog stars can end their college careers on top.

UPDATE: Georgia football signee Xavier Avery was selected 50th overall by the Baltimore Orioles. According to his father, Avery is baseball all the way. Some fans I’ve read have been griping that Avery’s scholarship could have gone to someone else, but I think the coaches knew and expected that Avery was going to go the baseball route and factored that into the numbers for this signing class. His decision actually clears up a situation where Georgia might have been over the football scholarship limit.