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Everything you need to know about 2019 MLB Draft

How to watch, how it works, and the order of the first round

By Andersen Pickard
Colorado Rockies v Miami Marlins Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

The 2019 Major League Baseball amateur kicks off on Monday night, when the Orioles will make the first selection of the night.

When is the draft, and how do I watch it?

Day 1: Monday, June 3

Preview show: 6 p.m. EST
Draft begins: 7 p.m. EST

Watch: MLB Network and MLB.com

Day 2: Tuesday, June 4

Begins: 1 p.m. EST

Rounds 3-10 on MLB.com

Day 3: Wednesday, June 5

Begins: 12 p.m. EST

Rounds 11-40 on MLB.com

How does the draft work?

The MLB Amateur Draft (sometimes called the First-Year Player Draft or the Rule 4 draft) is the league’s biggest draft and usually lasts somewhere near 50 rounds. An exception is if all 30 teams forfeit a pick in the same round due to a poor level of players available.

Players who can be drafted are residents of Canada or the United States (including Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories), as well as all players who enroll in a high school or college in the States no matter where they are from originally.

Players eligible to be drafted include players who have graduated from high school but have not attended college or junior college, college players from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old, junior college players no matter how many years of school they have finished, and any other players 21 years or older.

All teams have more than two months (until August 15) to sign any player that drafted. If a player goes unsigned by that date, they become eligible for the next draft. If the unsigned player is a first-rounder, the team that selected them is given a compensation pick for the next year that is one slot below the unsigned player’s slot. One of most recent examples of this came just last year and this year, when the Braves failed to agree to terms with 2018 eighth overall pick Carter Stewart and were given the 2019 ninth overall pick.

Another interesting note about unsigned players is that, should the player re-enter the draft the next season, there are rules that make it less likely for them to be drafted by the same team. According to Baseball-Reference’s draft guide, “a club may not select a player again in a subsequent year, unless the player has consented to the re-selection.”

Finally, any player who goes completely undrafted becomes a free agent and can sign with any club during the signing period, or, according to Baseball-Reference, “until the player enters or returns to a four-year college full-time, or enters or returns to a junior college.”

Draft order

Lastly, the full 2019 first-round draft order looks like this

  1. Baltimore Orioles
  2. Kansas City Royals
  3. Chicago White Sox
  4. Miami Marlins
  5. Detroit Tigers
  6. San Diego Padres
  7. Cincinnati Reds
  8. Texas Rangers
  9. Atlanta Braves
  10. San Francisco Giants
  11. Toronto Blue Jays
  12. New York Mets
  13. Minnesota Twins
  14. Philadelphia Phillies
  15. Los Angeles Angels
  16. Arizona Diamondbacks
  17. Washington Nationals
  18. Pittsburgh Pirates
  19. St. Louis Cardinals
  20. Seattle Mariners
  21. Atlanta Braves
  22. Tampa Bay Rays
  23. Colorado Rockies
  24. Cleveland Indians
  25. Los Angeles Dodgers
  26. Arizona Diamondbacks
  27. Chicago Cubs
  28. Milwaukee Brewers
  29. Oakland Athletics
  30. New York Yankees
  31. Los Angeles Dodgers
  32. Houston Astros
  33. Arizona Diamondbacks (Comp Round)
  34. Arizona Diamondbacks (Comp Round)
  35. Miami Marlins (Competitive Balance A)
  36. Tampa Bay Rays (Competitive Balance A)
  37. Pittsburgh Pirates (Competitive Balance A)
  38. New York Yankees (Competitive Balance A)
  39. Minnesota Twins (Competitive Balance A)
  40. Tampa Bay Rays (Competitive Balance A)
  41. Texas Rangers (Competitive Balance A)

The Braves received the 8th pick for not signing Carter Stewart.

The Diamondbacks received the 26th pick for not signing Matt McLain.

The Dodgers received the 31st pick for not signing J.T. Ginn.

The Diamondbacks received the 33rd and 34th picks for losing Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock.

The Rays received the 36th pick for not signing Gunnar Hoglund.

The Yankees received the 38th pick from the Reds in the Sonny Gray trade.

The Rays received the 40th pick from the Athletics in a three-team trade that also included the Rangers.

The Rangers received the 41st pick from the Brewers in the Alex Claudio trade.

Full order from Rounds 1 to 4:

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