Major League baseball teams love tall pitchers with strong arms.

That's good, because the Metro area of Cedar Rapids and Marion has plenty to offer for the amateur draft that begins Thursday.

There's A.J. Puk, the 6-foot-7 lefthander from Cedar Rapids Washington with the low-90's fastball and a nasty breaking ball.

There's Jon Keller, a 6-foot-5 righthander from Xavier who was the winning pitcher this past weekend when the University of Tampa won the NCAA Division II World Series.

There's Dakota Freese, a 6-foot-4 righty from Cedar Rapids Washington with a 94 mph fastball. He struck out 90 batters in 61 innings at DMACC this season.

There's also Andrew Hanse, a 6-foot-6 righthander from Linn-Mar and the University of Iowa who might get a shot.

The Metro area has more to offer than just pitchers, however.

Chad Christensen, a Washington grad who starred at the University of Nebraska, could hear his name called during the three-day draft. So could Dairo Gonzalez, a catcher and third baseman from Florida who starred at Kirkwood Community College the past two seasons.

Puk is the most highly regarded prospect from the Metro area. Perfect Game USA personnel think he might be drafted in the second or third round, but it could take a hefty signing bonus to lure him away from a career at the University of Florida.

Keller was selected in the 11th round of the 2010 draft by the Seattle Mariners, but elected to enroll at Nebraska instead. He spent two years with the Cornhuskers before moving to Tampa this season.

Keller went 6-3 with a 3.95 ERA at Tampa with 47 strikeouts in 66 innings.

Freese was taken in the 34th round of the 2011 draft by the Chicago White Sox, but did not sign. He spent one year at LSU-Eunice College, where he was redshirted and did not play due to academic reasons, then transferred to DMACC.

Freese compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.66 ERA at DMACC, where he allowed only 32 hits in 61 innings.

Hanse had a 3-4 record and 4.30 ERA for the Iowa Hawkeyes this season with 32 strikeouts in 46 innings.

Christensen was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 35th round of the 2012 draft after his junior campaign at Nebraska, but he stuck with the Cornhuskers and had another strong season despite changing positions.

Christensen was the first team all-Big Ten shortstop in 2012 and a first team all-Big Ten outfielder this year. He led the Big Ten in hitting during the regular season with a lusty .431 average and finished at .364 overall with two homers, 39 RBIs and no errors in the outfield.

Gonzalez was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 14 years old, not speaking a word of English at the time. He hit .413 with eight homers and 51 RBIs for Kirkwood this season and excelled at the Perfect Game Pre-Draft Showcase in Cedar Rapids last month.

Gonzalez was primarily a third baseman at Kirkwood, but switched to catcher late in the season and impressed pro scouts. He recently had a private tryout with the Miami Marlins at their major league park and could be fairly high on their list.