The first-year player draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is the primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Unlike most professional sports, MLB does not permit the trading of draft picks.[1] Since 2023, the first six selections are determined by a lottery; the previous season's standings determine the remaining selections.[2] If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick.[2] In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded "compensatory" picks.[2] The first draft took place in 1965; it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market.[3] Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues.[4] The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986.[5]
In 1965, Rick Monday became MLB's first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics. Travis Bazzana is the most recent first overall pick; he was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. Overall, 23 of the 50 picks before 2015 have participated in the All-Star Game, and four (Bob Horner, Darryl Strawberry, Bryce Harper, and Carlos Correa) have won the Rookie of the Year Award. Twenty-five of the fifty picks before 2015 have been drafted from high schools, one has been drafted out of the Independent American Association, and the others were drafted from universities. To date, Arizona State University, Vanderbilt University, Louisiana State University, and Oregon State University are the only schools from which multiple number-one overall draft picks have been chosen. No first overall pick was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame until 2016, when Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted with a record 99.3 percent of votes cast.[6] Griffey has since been joined by three other top picks: Chipper Jones, inducted in 2018;[7] Harold Baines, elected in December 2018 and inducted in July 2019,[8] and Joe Mauer, inducted in 2024.[9]
In the 58 drafts that have taken place through 2022, 22 of the 30 MLB franchises have had the first pick at least once. The Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies have never had the first pick. The Montreal Expos never had the first pick, but the Nationals, their successor, have had it twice. The Oakland Athletics have never had the first pick, but the Kansas City Athletics, their predecessor, had the first pick in MLB draft history. The Pittsburgh Pirates have had the first overall pick a record six times, while the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Houston Astros have each had the first overall pick five times.
| Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
| All-Star | ||
| ៛ | Rookie of the Year and All-Star | |
| Retired without playing a game in MLB | ||
| ° | Player did not sign | |
| Italics | Active player |
| Franchise | Total picks | Most recent year |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 2 | 2015 |
| Atlanta Braves | 2 | 1990 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 2022 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | — |
| Chicago Cubs | 1 | 1982 |
| Chicago White Sox | 2 | 1977 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 0 | — |
| Cleveland Guardians | 1 | 2024 |
| Colorado Rockies | 0 | — |
| Detroit Tigers | 3 | 2020 |
| Houston Astros | 5 | 2014 |
| Kansas City Royals | 1 | 2006 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 0 | — |
| Los Angeles Angels | 2 | 1995 |
| Miami Marlins | 1 | 2000 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 1 | 1985 |
| Minnesota Twins | 3 | 2017 |
| New York Mets | 5 | 1994 |
| New York Yankees | 2 | 1991 |
| Oakland Athletics | 1 | 1965 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 2 | 2016 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 6 | 2023 |
| San Diego Padres | 5 | 2004 |
| San Francisco Giants | 0 | — |
| Seattle Mariners | 4 | 1993 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | — |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 4 | 2008 |
| Texas Rangers | 2 | 1973 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 0 | — |
| Washington Nationals | 2 | 2010 |
Goodwin chose to attend university instead of signing with the Chicago White Sox, and re-entered the draft once he graduated in 1975.[10]
Hochevar played college baseball for the University of Tennessee, and was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005, but did not agree to a contract. He re-entered the draft in 2006 after spending the previous year with the independent Fort Worth Cats.