2017 MLB Draft Primer: The Schedule, the Coverage, the Order

The 2017 MLB Draft kicks off on Monday, and it marks the single most important event of the year for the long-term health of a baseball 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.

We thought it would be useful to offer a rundown of the logistics in advance of this year’s iteration. Tomorrow, we’ll offer some more detail on the mechanics of drafting in the current CBA era.

The Schedule

Day One of the 2017 MLB Draft is this Monday, June 12. The Draft begins at 6pm CT (7pm ET), and the first two rounds, including competitive balance and compensatory picks, 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. Unlike last season, the Cubs have two first round picks this season, both coming in the top 30 (#27 and #30 overall).

The first pick is their regularly scheduled draft pick, and their second was awarded as compensation for Dexter Fowler, who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals last offseason. The Cubs will also pick a third time on Day One, in the second round (67th overall).

Day Two of the Draft is Tuesday, June 13, 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 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. Although, in recent years, because of that trend, teams have started to pluck guys in the 8/9/10 range to try to jump rounds 11 through 15 (even at the risk of losing the bonus pool for that slot).

Day Two of the Draft begins with a live Draft Show at 11:30 am CT (12:30 ET)

Day Three of the Draft is Wednesday, June 14, 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 “over slot” 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), before the full coverage begins at 6pm CT (7pm ET). Day Two of the Draft is being streamed on MLB.com with video and commentary. And Day Three of the Draft will also being streamed on MLB.com (an audio-only conference call, typically).

We’ll have all of the Cubs’ picks covered here at BN, of course, if you don’t want to watch the stream yourself. It’s annually a tough, but fun several hours for us each day, so we hope you enjoy the fast-paced coverage.

The Order

First Round (3.5 to 4.5 minutes per pick):

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Cincinnati Reds
3. San Diego padres
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Atlanta Braves
6. Oakland Athletics
7. Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Philadelphia Phillies
9. Milwaukee Brewers
10. Los Angeles Angels
11. Chicago White Sox
12. Pittsburgh Pirates
13. Miami Marlins
14. Kansas City Royals
15. Houston Astros
16. New York Yankees
17. Seattle Mariners
18. Detroit Tigers
19. San Francisco Giants
20. New York Mets
21. Baltimore Orioles
22. Toronto Blue Jays
23. Los Angeles Dodgers
24. Boston Red Sox
25. Washington Nationals
26. Texas Rangers
27. Chicago Cubs
28. Toronto Blue Jays (Comp. for Edwin Encarnacion)
29. Texas Rangers (Comp. for Ian Desmond)
30. Chicago Cubs (Comp. for Dexter Fowler)

Competitive Balance A

31. Tampa Bay Rays
32. Cincinnati Reds
33. Oakland Athletics
34. Milwaukee Brewers
35. Minnesota Twins
36. Miami Marlins

Second Round (about 1 minutes per pick):

37. Minnesota Twins
38. Cincinnati Reds
39. San Diego Padres
40. Tampa Bay Rays
41. Atlanta Braves
42. Pittsburgh Pirates
43. Oakland Athletics
44. Arizona Diamondbacks
45. Philadelphia Phillies
46. Milwaukee Brewers
47. Los Angeles Angels
48. Colorado Rockies
49. Chicago White Sox
50. Pittsburgh Pirates
51. Miami Marlins
52. Kansas City Royals
53. Houston Astros
54. New York Yankees
55. Seattle Mariners
56. Houston Astros
57. Detroit Tigers
58. San Francisco Giants
59. New York Mets
60. Baltimore Orioles
61. Toronto Blue Jays
62. Los Angeles Dodgers
63. Boston Red Sox
64. Cleveland Indians
65. Washington Nationals
66. Texas Rangers
67. Chicago Cubs

Competitive Balance B

68. Arizona Diamondbacks
69. San Diego Padres
70. Colorado Rockies
71. Cleveland Indians
72. Pittsburgh Pirates
73. Kansas City Royals
74. Baltimore Orioles
75. Houston Astros

Third Round

76. Minnesota Twins
77. Cincinnati Reds
78. San Diego Padres
79. Tampa Bay Rays
80. Atlanta Braves
81. Oakland Athletics
82. Arizona Diamondbacks
83. Philadelphia Phillies
84. Milwaukee Brewers
85. Los Angeles Angels
86. Colorado Rockies
87. Chicago White Sox
88. Pittsburgh Pirates
89. Miami Marlins
90. Kansas City Royals
91. Houston Astros
92. New York Yankees
93. Seattle Mariners
94. St. Louis Cardinals
95. Detroit Tigers
96. San Francisco Giants
97. New York Mets
98. Baltimore Orioles
99. Toronto Blue Jays
100. Los Angeles Dodgers
101. Boston Red Sox
102. Cleveland Indians
103. Washington Nationals
104. Texas Rangers
105. Chicago Cubs

The rounds thereafter follow the order of the third round. 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.