A Few Things To Know About The MLB Draft
Here are some other things to know about the draft:
WHEN? WHERE?: Starts Monday at 7 p.m. EDT and continues for 40 rounds over three days, with the first two rounds at MLB Network's studios in Secaucus. Rounds 3-10 will be held Tuesday, and rounds 11-40 Wednesday — both days via team conference calls. Teams pick in reverse order of finish from the overall standings from last season.
FIRST PICK: The Twins have the No. 1 overall pick for the third time, and first since taking Minnesota high school catcher Joe Mauer in 2001.
OTHER NAMES TO KNOW: Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright, North Carolina high school lefty MacKenzie Gore, California high school shortstop/outfielder Royce Lewis and North Carolina high school outfielder Austin Beck.
SHOWING UP: Four top prospects are expected to be at the draft site, where they'll shake hands with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and slip on their new team's cap and jersey: Greene, Adell, New Mexico high school left-hander Trevor Rogers and Alabama high school outfielder Bubba Thompson.
WHO ELSE IS THERE?: Each of baseball's 30 teams has a former player and/or current member of its front office representing them at the draft. Among those scheduled to attend are Hall of Famer George Brett (Royals), 1973 NL Rookie of the Year Gary Matthews (Phillies), 1976 NL Cy Young winner Randy Jones (Padres), 1983 AL Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle (White Sox) and former All-Stars such as Bob Boone (Nationals) and Ron Cey (Dodgers). Lloyd Moseby, the No. 2 overall pick by Toronto in 1978, and Jeffrey Hammonds, No. 4 overall in 1992 by the Orioles, are also expected to be there.
EARLY ACTION: Toronto (22nd and 28th), Texas (26th and 29th) and the Chicago Cubs (27th and 30th) each have two first-round selections, including compensatory picks. Houston and Pittsburgh both have four picks in the first 75 selections. For the Pirates, that includes No. 42 overall, which they received after failing to come to terms with lefty Nick Lodolo, the No. 41 pick who chose to attend Texas Christian instead of signing.
QUIET CARDINALS: St. Louis won't pick until the third round on Tuesday. The Cardinals had to give their first-round selection to the Cubs for signing free agent Dexter Fowler, and forfeited their next two picks (Nos. 56 and 75) — along with $2 million — to Houston after MLB completed its investigation into a data breach of the Astros' baseball operations database by a former St. Louis employee.
