NEWSLETTER
The 2015 MLB Draft kicks off on Monday, and it marks the single most important event of the year for the long-term health of an organization. Of course, because the MLB Draft is so different from the NFL or NBA Drafts, where you see the players immediately, it’s harder to perceive the draft as so important. But, yeah, it really is.
I thought it would be useful to offer a rundown of the logistics in advance of this year’s iteration. Tomorrow, I’ll offer some more detail on the mechanics of drafting in the current CBA era.
The Schedule
Day One of the 2015 MLB Draft is this Monday, June 8. The Draft begins at 6pm CT (7pm ET), and the first two rounds take place on Day One. It’s annually a fun night – the closest approximation to the NFL/NBA Drafts that MLB can offer, even if it isn’t quite the same. The Cubs pick ninth overall, and then again early in the second round, so the whole night is probably going to be pretty exciting.
Day Two of the Draft is Tuesday, June 9, and includes Rounds Three through Ten. Each team’s bonus pool is for the first 10 rounds, so there is some synchronicity there, though it pushes some of the excitement from Day Two to Day Three of the Draft – recall, many teams use the latter rounds before the 11th round (8/9/10 range) to “save” bonus pool money for use elsewhere, making those rounds not always as intriguing as, say, rounds 11 through 15. Day Two of the Draft begins at 12pm CT (1pm ET).
Day Three of the Draft is Wednesday, June 10, and finishes things up with Rounds 11 through 40. It’s rapid fire, and there’s very little fanfare (even if there is excitement for Draft nerds like us). You’ll see a lot of intriguing “overslot” types who’ve slipped get picked in this range. Day Three of the Draft begins at 11am CT (12pm ET)
The Coverage
Day One of the Draft is being televised on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com, and begins with a Draft preview show at 5pm CT (6pm ET). There will be live coverage here at BN all evening, so make sure you stop by. It tends to have a fun, party atmosphere in the comments as the Draft goes on. People seem to enjoy it every year.
Day Two of the Draft is being streamed on MLB.com with video and commentary. We’ll have pick-by-pick coverage here at BN, including plenty of thoughts/reactions/analysis as quickly as we can.
Day Three of the Draft will also being streamed on MLB.com (conference call, typically), and the coverage here at BN should be similar to Day Two’s coverage. We obsess, you enjoy. That’s the protocol.
The Order
First Round (3.5 to 4.5 minutes per pick):
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Houston Astros (compensation for not signing Brady Aiken)
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Texas Rangers
5. Houston Astros
6. Minnesota Twins
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Chicago White Sox
9. Chicago Cubs
10. Philadelphia Phillies
11. Cincinnati Reds
12. Miami Marlins
13. Tampa Bay Rays
14. Atlanta Braves
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. New York Yankees
17. Cleveland Indians
18. San Francisco Giants
19. Pittsburgh Pirates
20. Oakland Athletics
21. Kansas City Royals
22. Detroit Tigers
23. St. Louis Cardinals
24. Los Angeles Dodgers
25. Baltimore Orioles
26. Los Angeles Angels
Compensatory Picks:
27. Colorado Rockies (Michael Cuddyer)
28. Atlanta Braves (Ervin Santana)
29. Toronto Blue Jays (Melky Cabrera)
30. New York Yankees (David Robertson)
31. San Francisco Giants (Pablo Sandoval)
32. Pittsburgh Pirates (Russell Martin)
33. Kansas City Royals (James Shields)
34. Detroit Tigers (Max Scherzer)
35. Los Angeles Dodgers (Hanley Ramirez)
36. Baltimore Orioles (Nelson Cruz)
Competitive Balance Picks (Round A):
37. Houston Astros (from Marlins)
38. Colorado Rockies
39. St. Louis Cardinals (from Big Daddy Voodoo Joojoo)
40. Milwaukee Brewers
41. Atlanta Braves (from Padres)
42. Cleveland Indians
Second Round (one minute per pick):
43. Arizona Diamondbacks
44. Colorado Rockies
45. Texas Rangers
46. Houston Astros
47. Chicago Cubs
48. Philadelphia Phillies
49. Cincinnati Reds
50. Miami Marlins
51. San Diego Padres
52. Tampa Bay Rays
53. New York Mets
54. Atlanta Braves
55. Milwaukee Brewers
56. Toronto Blue Jays
57. New York Yankees
58. Washington Nationals (compensation for not signing Andrew Suarez)
59. Cleveland Indians
60. Seattle Mariners
61. San Francisco Giants
62. Pittsburgh Pirates
63. Oakland Athletics
64. Kansas City Royals
65. Detroit Tigers
66. St. Louis Cardinals
67. Los Angeles Dodgers
68. Baltimore Orioles
69. Washington Nationals
70. Los Angeles Angels
Competitive Balance Picks (Round B):
71. Cincinnati Reds
72. Seattle Mariners
73. Minnesota Twins
74. Los Angeles Dodgers (from Orioles)
75. Atlanta Braves (from Diamondbacks)
The rounds thereafter follow the order of the second round (with the teams that lost second and third round picks as free agent compensation slipping back in there). There is one minute per pick for rounds three through ten, and then no time limit (i.e., they pick immediately) in the rounds thereafter.
