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MLB

2022 MLB draft first round selection order: which teams select first?

The MLB Draft, with its unique quirks, will see teams vie for the best talent in prep and college baseball in North America, with a few twists along the way

The MLB Draft, with its unique quirks, will see teams vie for the best talent in prep and college baseball in North America, with a few twists along the way
Jim CowsertUSA Today Sports

There are several significant differences to the MLB draft for any casual viewer, perhaps more accustomed to the NFL or NBA draft. The first and most obvious is that, uniquely in American sports, baseball can choose players directly from high school. This leads on to a series of complications which are then addressed one by one, changing the face of the draft completely.

Who is eligible

  • Any player who is a resident of, or has attended an educational institution in, the United States, any US territory, or Canada.
  • Have finished high school AND have not yet attended college.
  • Playing at a Junior College or a Community College.
  • Playing at a four-year university AND have completed three years since enrolment OR are over 21 years old, whichever comes first.
  • Have never signed a major or minor league contract.

Players outside of the US and Canada, who have never attended an educational institution within either of those countries are not drafted but are eligible to sign with any team.

You don’t need to declare for the draft, simply if you fulfil the criteria, you are eligible to be drafted.

A new concept to baseball, but one that has been the backbone of the NFL draft for decades now, is the combine. Adopted by MLB in 2021, this provides an opportunity for draft-eligible players to show teams what they are capable of in a controlled environment.

What about if you go undrafted?

Unlike the NFL and NBA draft, in the MLB draft, a player who is not drafted can return to school if they have eligibility remaining. Additionally, any player who is eligible for the draft but goes unpicked is free to sign a free agent contract. However, it gets sticky if a player gets drafted but chooses not to sign with that team. Rather than become free agents, they are free to return to school or play in an independent or overseas baseball league. If they return to school, they can be drafted again in the future by a different team.

Who picks first? What order do teams choose?

Similar to other sports drafts, the MLB teams pick in reverse order of the previous year’s standings, meaning that the last team to choose this year will be the World Series Champions, the Atlanta Braves.

Another peculiarity of the MLB draft is the compensatory picks that teams are awarded for departing free agents, who have been offered and rejected a Qualifying Offer by the team. Seen as a loss of a player through no fault of the team’s, they are awarded an extra draft pick to make amends.

With the new signing rules in place, teams can no longer offer a draftee a major league contract. Only minor league contracts are available to them, so you can never have another Dave Winfield or Bob Horner, coming straight out of the draft into the Show.

Team order for the 2022 MLB Draft

First round

1. Baltimore Orioles

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

3. Texas Rangers

4. Pittsburgh Pirates

5. Washington Nationals

6. Miami Marlins

7. Chicago Cubs

8. Minnesota Twins

9. Kansas City Royals

10. Colorado Rockies

11. New York Mets

12. Detroit Tigers

13. Los Angeles Angels

14. New York Mets

15. San Diego Padres

16. Cleveland Guardians

17. Philadelphia Phillies

18. Cincinnati Reds

19. Oakland Athletics

20. Atlanta Braves

21. Seattle Mariners

22. St. Louis Cardinals

23. Toronto Blue Jays

24. Boston Red Sox

25. New York Yankees

26. Chicago White Sox

27. Milwaukee Brewers

28. Houston Astros

29. Tampa Bay Rays

30. San Francisco Giants

Compensation picks

31. Rockies (Trevor Story)

32. Reds (Nick Castellanos)

Competitive balance round A

33. Baltimore Orioles

34. Arizona Diamondbacks

35. Kansas City Royals

36. Pittsburgh Pirates

37. Cleveland Guardians

38. Colorado Rockies

39. San Diego Padres

Second round

40. Los Angeles Dodgers

41. Boston Red Sox

42. Baltimore Orioles

43. Arizona Diamondbacks

44. Pittsburgh Pirates

45. Washington Nationals

46. Miami Marlins

47. Chicago Cubs

48. Minnesota Twins

49. Kansas City Royals

50. Colorado Rockies

51. Detroit Tigers

52. New York Mets

53. San Diego Padres

54. Cleveland Guardians

55. Cincinnati Reds

56. Oakland Athletics

57. Atlanta Braves

58. Seattle Mariners

59. St. Louis Cardinals

60. Toronto Blue Jays

61. New York Yankees

62. Chicago White Sox

63. Milwaukee Brewers

64. Houston Astros

65. Tampa Bay Rays

66. San Francisco Giants

Competitive balance round B

67. Baltimore Orioles

68. Minnesota Twins

69. Oakland Athletics

70. Tampa Bay Rays

71. Tampa Bay Rays

72. Milwaukee Brewers

73. Cincinnati Reds

74. Seattle Mariners