What the (changing) MLS draft looks like this morning

Jan 17, 2013, 7:45 AM EDT

With Major League Soccer’s draft from Indianapolis just a few hours away, everyone still has Louisville defender Andrew Farrell with top odds of being selected first. Now, however, that first spot no longer belongs to Toronto FC.

New England traded yesterday to slide into the top spot. So Revs manager Jay Heaps and GM Mike Burns are on the clock for today’s noon (ET) first pick, which can be seen on ESPN SportsCenter.

The Revolution aren’t saying who they’ll take with the top pick, but if it’s not Farrell or U.S. under-20 Walker Zimmerman from Furman, we’ll all be quite surprised.

Chivas USA already has their man at No. 2, set to select UConn playmaker Carlos Alvarez, whose performance in the just-completed MLS combine helped validate the Goats’ desire to bring him aboard. (LOVED the comment from MLSSoccer.com analyst Matt Doyle on his group’s final mock draft. “If I get this one wrong, I quit.”)

That leaves Toronto FC with a lot to say about today’s draft, even after moving away from the King’s thrown. The new regime still has selections No. 3 and 4.

Real Salt Lake (picking 12^th) might see today’s draft from a slightly adjusted viewpoint. That’s because manger Jason Kreis and GM Garth Lagerwey have just signed midfield creator Javier Morales to a new deal. Details aren’t out, but it looks like that goes through 2015. That’s on top of yesterday’s conclusion of the deal to bring striker Robbie Findley back to Rio Tinto Stadium.

Remember, by the way, only the first pick can be seen on SportsCenter. The rest of the draft will be streamed at MLSSoccer.com and elsewhere. It’s innovative, you know.

The entire draft order for today’s two-round process is here. More trades may be on the way in the coming hours, but for the time being the top 10 picks look like this: