When: Begins at 5 p.m. Thursday and will continue for 40 rounds over three days, with the first two rounds (and new “competitive balance rounds”) from MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, N.J. Rounds 3-10 will be held via conference call with teams Friday and rounds 11-40 on Saturday.
First Pick: Houston Astros. They have the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive year after taking shortstop Carlos Correa from Puerto Rico last year. Only Tampa Bay (2007-08) and Washington (2009-10) have had back-to-back No. 1 picks.
Order: Determined by reverse order of finish in overall standings from last season. Also, teams are not allowed to trade picks.
New: Competitive balance rounds give the 10 teams with the lowest revenues and the 10 teams in the smallest markets an opportunity to obtain additional picks through lottery, which was held last July. The lottery determined the first six picks immediately after the first round; remaining eligible teams went into another lottery for the first six picks after the second round.
On the Clock: Teams will have 4½ minutes to make picks in the first round, 2 minutes during the first competitive balance round, and 1 minute for the second round, second competitive balance round and Rounds 3-10. The rest of the draft will have selections without delays.
Top Prospects: Stanford RHP Mark Appel, Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray, San Diego 3B Kris Bryant, Georgia high school OFs Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows, North Carolina 3B Colin Moran, Texas high school RHP Kohl Stewart.
Signing Deadline: Teams must sign their drafted players, other than college seniors, by 3 p.m. July 12.
Associated Press
Reader Comments