2023 MLB Draft: Who will go first?

The MLB Draft is the less-celebrated of the the three big American sports draft events, largely because it is the only one of the three who allow high school students to be taken.

While the draft class for the NBA and NFL are well-known to nationwide audiences through the college game, only a portion of the players drafted by MLB teams have played on that national stage prior to the event.

This year’s draft class has been much discussed with the formidable group of seniors assembled by LSU during their run to becoming the 2023 CWS National Champions. Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes are both widely being picked to go top overall, and one is almost certain to get the tap.

With the Pirates taking the first pick, Crews is our bet for the first overall since Pittsburgh needs productive bats more than they do pitching. The Nationals have the second pick, and with their history of taking strong pitching high in the draft, we think that Skenes will go second.

Should Washington opt to go for a bat instead, they will likely take Florida’s Wyatt Langford, in which case one of either Detroit or Texas will pounce on Skenes. In fact, with the Rangers’ newfound focus on durable starting pitchers, we would expect them to plump for Skenes, Tennessee’s Chase Dollander, or Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder, whichever is still available when the Draft gets to number four.

When and were is the 2023 MLB Draft?

The 2023 MLB Draft will be in Seattle, during the lead up to the MLB All Star Game, taking place from July 9th to the 11th. The first two rounds will be held on Sunday, July 9th from 7 p.m. ET, while the next seven rounds will take place the following day from 2 p.m. ET. The Draft will finish up on the morning of the All Star Game, with rounds 11 through 20 going on Tuesday, July 11 from 2 p.m. ET.

2023 MLB Draft order

For the first time ever, the concept of the draft lottery is being used by MLB. It made its way into the collective bargaining agreement last off season as a direct copy from the NBA. In it’s basic form, the idea is that all teams who do not make the playoffs have a shot at the first pick, with teams who finished lower getting higher odds.

The first six picks are set by the lottery, at which point the draft order reverts to the traditional inverse order of last season’s standings.

Here is the way that the first round order for the 2023 MLB Draft shakes out:

Who are the top prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft?

While the world of MLB prospects is as wide and byzantine as anything imaginable, mainly due to the availability of high school students to teams, these are the top 15 MLB Draft prospects, according to MLB.com: