| 1978 Major League Baseball draft | |
| First: | Bob Horner Atlanta Braves |
| First Round: | 26 |
| Prev: | 1977 |
| Next: | 1979 |
The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations.[1] The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by the Atlanta Braves.
Four of the selected players made their professional debuts in MLB without first playing in Minor League Baseball: third baseman Horner from Arizona State University, Oakland High School pitchers Tim Conroy and Mike Morgan, and catcher Brian Milner from Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
In addition to Horner, the Braves also selected future major-leaguer players Matt Sinatro (2nd round), Steve Bedrosian (3rd round), Rick Behenna (4th round), Jose Alvarez (8th round) and Gerald Perry (11th round).
Others notable players drafted included Lloyd Moseby and Dave Stieb (Toronto), Mike Marshall and Steve Sax (Los Angeles), Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Boddicker (Baltimore), Kirk Gibson (Detroit), Kent Hrbek (Minnesota) and Hubie Brooks (New York Mets).[2]
The following are the first round picks in the 1978 Major League Baseball draft.[3]
| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Pick | align=left style="background: #F2F2F2;" | Player | align=left style="background: #F2F2F2;" | Team | Position | align=left style="background: #F2F2F2;" | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3B | Arizona State | |||||
| 2 | 1B | Oakland High School (Oakland, California) | |||||
| 3 | SS | Arizona State | |||||
| 4 | RHP | Valley High School (Las Vegas, Nevada) | |||||
| 5 | RHP | Midway High School (Hewitt, Texas) | |||||
| 6 | OF | Chestnut Hill Academy High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | |||||
| 7 | C | Brother Rice High School (Chicago, Illinois) | |||||
| 8 | C | Hialeah High School (Hialeah, Florida) | |||||
| 9 | SS | Chipola Junior College | |||||
| 10 | SS | Wilcox High School (Santa Clara, California) | |||||
| 11 | RHP | University of Southern California | |||||
| 12 | OF | Michigan State University | |||||
| 13 | C | Indiana State University | |||||
| 14 | OF | West Covina High School (West Covina, California) | |||||
| 15 | Robert Hicks | 1B | Tate High School (Pensacola, Florida) | ||||
| 16 | SS | Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) | |||||
| 17 | SS | Carol City High School (Carol City, Florida) | |||||
| 18 | SS | Bullard High School (Fresno, California) | |||||
| 19 | 1B | DeSoto High School (DeSoto, Texas) | |||||
| 20 | LHP | Gateway High School (Monroeville, Pennsylvania) | |||||
| 21 | OF | Dougherty Comprehensive High School (Albany, Georgia) | |||||
| 22 | 3B | Deer Park High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) | |||||
| 23 | 1B-RHP | Allegheny High School (Sparta, North Carolina) | |||||
| 24 | OF | Williamsville High School (Williamsville, New York) | |||||
| 25 | SS | Redwood High School (Greenbrae, California) | |||||
| 26 | RHP | Shrewsbury High School (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts) | |||||
| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
| Round | Pick | Player | Team | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 37 | Danny Heep | Houston Astros | OF | |
| 2 | 39 | Mel Hall | Chicago Cubs | OF | |
| 2 | 48 | Cal Ripken Jr. | Baltimore Orioles | 3B | |
| 2 | 52 | Steve Balboni | New York Yankees | 1B | |
| 3 | 53 | Steve Bedrosian | Atlanta Braves | RHP | |
| 3 | 70 | Britt Burns | Chicago White Sox | LHP | |
| 3 | 74 | Bobby Bonner | Baltimore Orioles | SS | |
| 4 | 85 | Rob Deer | San Francisco Giants | OF | |
| 4 | 92 | Mike Witt | California Angels | RHP | |
| 5 | 106 | Dave Stieb | Toronto Blue Jays | OF | |
| 6 | 151 | Mike Marshall | Los Angeles Dodgers | 1B | |
| 6 | 152 | Mike Boddicker | Baltimore Orioles | RHP | |
| 8 | 196 | Tim Wallach | California Angels | 1B | |
| 9 | 229 | Steve Sax | Los Angeles Dodgers | SS | |
| 15 | 377 | Mark Langston | Chicago Cubs | LHP | |
| 15 | 381 | Gary Redus | Cincinnati Reds | SS | |
| 16 | 415 | Frank Viola | Kansas City Royals | LHP | |
| 17 | 432 | Kent Hrbek | Minnesota Twins | 1B | |
| 18 | 447 | Eric Snow | San Diego Padres | RHP | |
| 18 | 460 | John Stuper | Pittsburgh Pirates | RHP | |
| 19 | 475 | Kevin McReynolds | Milwaukee Brewers | OF | |
| 20 | 511 | Ryne Sandberg | Philadelphia Phillies | INF | |
| 21 | 531 | Dave Dravecky | Pittsburgh Pirates | LHP | |
| 23 | 577 | Howard Johnson | New York Yankees | RHP | |
| 24 | 594 | Rick Leach | Philadelphia Phillies | 1B | |
| 39 | 758 | Vance Law | Pittsburgh Pirates | SS | |
| 47 | 778 | Ron Reeves | Cleveland Indians | RHP |