New York ? The Pittsburgh Pirates know No. 1 draft pick Bryan Bullington still needs some work.

“We still look at him as a couple of years away,” general manager Dave Littlefield said after taking the Ball State right-hander with the first pick in Tuesday’s draft. “On the plus side, that may mean … he’ll be an even better pitcher than we see now.”

Bullington, who throws a 94 mph fastball, is the first pitcher drafted with the top pick since Detroit took Rice right-hander Matt Anderson in 1997. Littlefield envisions Bullington as a No. 3 starter, evidence of the lack of star talent in this year’s draft.

“We’re talking about a guy who has accomplished a lot in his college career,” Littlefield said. “He’s improved a lot and, beyond the radar gun and the things that are easy to measure, he’s a smart guy, he’s very competitive and very determined.”

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Bullington, the Mid-American Conference career strikeouts leader with 370, caught the Pirates’ attention after going 11-3 with a 2.84 ERA and 139 strikeouts and 18 walks in 10423 innings.

Tampa Bay took B.J. Upton, a good-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop from Greenbrier Christian Academy in Virginia with the second pick.

Chris Gruler, a right-hander from Liberty High School in California with one of the best curveballs in the draft, was taken by Cincinnati with the third pick and agreed to a $2.5 million signing bonus Tuesday night.

Adam Loewen, a 6-6 left-hander from Surrey, British Columbia, became the highest-drafted Canadian player when Baltimore took him with the fourth pick.

Jeff Francis, a lefty from the University of British Columbia, was taken ninth by Colorado and joined Loewen to make some draft history. There had only been two Canadians selected in the first round and none in the top 10 picks before Francis and Loewen.

The first round also featured a few players with major league bloodlines.

Prince Fielder, the son of former big league slugger Cecil Fielder, went to Milwaukee with the seventh pick. The 6-foot, 255-pound Fielder, from Eau Gallie High School in Florida, hit 10 homers including a shot estimated at 500 feet in his final game this year.

Ohio State first baseman Nick Swisher, the son of former major league catcher Steve Swisher a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1973 went to Oakland with the 16th pick. The Swishers joined Tom and Ben Grieve and Jeff and Sean Burroughs as father-son first-rounders.

John Mayberry Jr., the son of former big leaguer John Mayberry, was taken by Seattle with the 28th pick. He showed good power potential and defensive instincts playing first base for Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo.

Oakland took college players with its four first-round picks: Swisher, Kentucky right-hander Joseph Blanton, Maryland shortstop John McCurdy and Fresno State righty Ben Fritz. The A’s got three extra picks as compensation for losing free agents Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen.

Other top 10 picks were right-hander Zack Greinke from Apopka High School in Florida, who went to Kansas City with the sixth pick; shortstop Scott Moore from Cypress High School in California, who went to Detroit with the eighth pick; and South Carolina shortstop Drew Meyer, who went 10th to Texas.