Major League Baseball will hold day one of the 2017 MLB Draft on Monday, June 12th at MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey. This year's Draft will begin live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network will air a Draft preview show, also simulcast on MLB.com, at 6:00 p.m. (ET).
The selection order of the Draft is determined by the reverse order of finish at the close of the previous championship season. For the third time in team history, the Minnesota Twins will have the first overall selection of the Draft. In 2001, Minnesota drafted six-time All-Star, three-time American League batting champion and 2009 AL Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer with the top overall selection. The Twins also held the first overall pick in 1983, when they selected pitcher Tim Belcher, though he did not sign.
The Toronto Blue Jays (22nd and 28th), the Texas Rangers (26th and 29th) and the Chicago Cubs (27th and 30th) each have two selections in the first round. The Houston Astros (15th, 53rd, 56th and 75th) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (12th, 42nd, 50th and 72nd) each have a Major League-best four selections within the first 75 picks during the first day of the Draft.
The Draft will once again feature Competitive Balance Rounds, which were originally agreed upon as a part of the 2012-2016 Basic Agreement between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association, and restructured as part of the 2017-2021 Basic Agreement. The Competitive Balance Rounds give Clubs with the lowest revenues and in the smallest markets an additional draft pick each year. Six teams were awarded CB Round A picks, and eight teams were given CB Round B picks. The groups of teams in each of the CB Rounds will alternate each year through 2021.
The Draft will have 40 rounds, and a Club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds. The 2017 Draft will span three days as it has since 2009. For day one on June 12th, Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com. Beginning with the first pick in Round 2 and continuing through Competitive Balance Round B, the Draft will air live exclusively on MLB.com.
The intervals between selections during round one will last four minutes, followed by one-minute intervals between selections during Competitive Balance Round A, the second round and Competitive Balance Round B. The Draft will resume at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, June 13th, when selections will be made for rounds 3-10, with one minute intervals between selections. Day three of the Draft on Wednesday, June 14th will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET), featuring picks in rounds 11-40, with no time delay between selections.
Beginning with the Draft preview show at 6:00 p.m. ET, MLB Network's live coverage will feature news, analysis, interviews with Club front office personnel and representatives, footage from Club draft rooms, and features and interviews with prospects and newly drafted players. MLB Network's Greg Amsinger, Peter Gammons, Dan O'Dowd, Harold Reynolds and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will anchor the live coverage with contributions from MLB Network's Scott Braun, Eric Byrnes, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lowell and Kelly Nash, as well as Jim Callis of MLB.com and John Manuel of Baseball America.
MLB.com will continue its exclusive live programming of the Draft's final two days with a live draft show from its New York studios at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on June 13th, followed by a live pick-by-pick stream and draft and scouting expert commentary from Mayo and Callis. It also will provide Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of more than 1,500 draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On Twitter, the official Draft Twitter account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary using the official Draft hashtag, #MLBDraft, while @MLBDraftTracker will tweet all picks as they are made.
Each of the 30 Major League Clubs will be represented at the Draft by one of its former players and/or a member of its front office. Last year's representatives included 2017 Hall of Fame electee Ivan Rodriguez; Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda; Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg; and former All-Stars Jason Bay, Andy Pettitte, Luis Tiant and Alan Trammell, amongst others. The Club representatives who will attend the 2017 Draft will be announced in the weeks ahead, as well as information on MLB's annual Draft Luncheon for media members. In addition to the Club representatives, two players chosen in the first round of the Draft last year were in attendance. Amateur players will again be invited to this year's festivities.