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. Since 2023, the first six selections are determined by a lottery; the previous season's standings determine the remaining selections. If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded "compensatory" picks. 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. 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. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986.
In 1965, Rick Monday became MLB's first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics. Roch Cholowsky is the most recent first overall pick; he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2026. 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. Griffey has since been joined by three other top picks: Chipper Jones, inducted in 2018; Harold Baines, elected in December 2018 and inducted in July 2019, and Joe Mauer, inducted in 2024.
In the 60 drafts that have taken place through 2024, 23 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 three times. The Athletics have never had the first pick, but the Kansas City Athletics, one of their predecessors, 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.
Key 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
First overall picks
YearPlayerTeamPositionClub/School 1965* Kansas City Athletics Outfielder Arizona State University 1966 New York Mets Catcher Antelope Valley High School 1967 New York Yankees First baseman Druid Hills High School 1968 New York Mets Shortstop Notre Dame High School 1969* Washington Senators Outfielder Woodrow Wilson Classical High School 1970 San Diego Padres Catcher Walker High School 1971 ° Chicago White Sox Catcher Peoria High School 1972 San Diego Padres Third baseman University of Oregon 1973 Texas Rangers Left-handed pitcher Westchester High School 1974 San Diego Padres Shortstop Brown University 1975 California Angels Catcher Southern University 1976* Houston Astros Left-handed pitcher Arizona State University 1977* Chicago White Sox Outfielder St. Michaels Middle/High School 1978 Atlanta Braves Third baseman Arizona State University 1979 Seattle Mariners Outfielder John Harris High School 1980 New York Mets Outfielder Crenshaw High School 1981* Seattle Mariners Right-handed pitcher Oral Roberts University 1982* Chicago Cubs Shortstop Thomas Jefferson High School 1983 ° Minnesota Twins Right-handed pitcher Mount Vernon Nazarene University 1984 New York Mets Outfielder Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School 1985* Milwaukee Brewers Catcher University of North Carolina 1986 Pittsburgh Pirates Third baseman University of Arkansas 1987* Seattle Mariners Outfielder Moeller High School 1988* San Diego Padres Right-handed pitcher University of Evansville 1989 Baltimore Orioles Right-handed pitcher Louisiana State University 1990* Atlanta Braves Shortstop Bolles High School 1991 New York Yankees Left-handed pitcher East Carteret High School 1992* Houston Astros Third baseman California State University, Fullerton 1993* Seattle Mariners Shortstop Westminster Christian High School 1994 New York Mets Right-handed pitcher Florida State University 1995* California Angels Outfielder University of Nebraska–Lincoln 1996 Pittsburgh Pirates Right-handed pitcher Clemson University 1997 Detroit Tigers Right-handed pitcher Rice University 1998 Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder University of Miami 1999* Tampa Bay Devil Rays Outfielder Athens Drive High School 2000* Florida Marlins First baseman Eastlake High School 2001 * Minnesota Twins Catcher Cretin-Derham Hall High School 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates Right-handed pitcher Ball State University 2003 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Outfielder Adolfo Camarillo High School 2004 San Diego Padres Shortstop Mission Bay Senior High School 2005* Arizona Diamondbacks Shortstop Great Bridge High School 2006 Kansas City Royals Right-handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats 2007 * Tampa Bay Devil Rays Left-handed pitcher Vanderbilt University 2008 Tampa Bay Rays Shortstop Griffin High School 2009* Washington Nationals Right-handed pitcher San Diego State University 2010 Washington Nationals Outfielder/Catcher College of Southern Nevada 2011* Pittsburgh Pirates Right-handed pitcher University of California, Los Angeles 2012 Houston Astros Shortstop Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School 2013 Houston Astros Right-handed pitcher Stanford University 2014° Houston Astros Left-handed pitcher Cathedral Catholic High School 2015* Arizona Diamondbacks Shortstop Vanderbilt University 2016 Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder La Costa Canyon High School 2017 Minnesota Twins Shortstop JSerra Catholic High School 2018* Detroit Tigers Right-handed pitcher Auburn University 2019* Baltimore Orioles Catcher Oregon State University 2020 Detroit Tigers Third baseman Arizona State University 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates Catcher University of Louisville 2022Jackson Holliday Baltimore Orioles Shortstop Stillwater High School 2023 Pittsburgh Pirates Right-handed pitcher Louisiana State University 2024 Cleveland GuardiansSecond basemanOregon State University 2025 Washington NationalsShortstopFort Cobb-Broxton High School 2026 Chicago White SoxShortstopUniversity of California, Los Angeles
By franchise FranchiseTotal picksMost 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 3 2026 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 3 2025
Footnotes Goodwin chose to attend university instead of signing with the Chicago White Sox, and re-entered the draft once he graduated in 1975. 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.
See also
List of first overall NBA draft picks List of first overall National Football League draft picks List of first overall NHL draft picks
References General
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