A staple of the MLB calendar, the Draft enables franchises to take their pick from thousands of high school and college ballplayers to bolster their squads for the forthcoming season and the years beyond.
Being the number one overall draft pick carries a significant degree of expectation. Some players go on to fulfil their potential as stars of the MLB, while others unfortunately buckle under the pressure and never live up to their lofty billing.
Rick Monday was the very first draft pick in MLB history when he was selected by the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, with the Arizona State graduate going on to become a two-time All-Star in 1968 and 1978.
A total of four number one draft picks have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame including Harold Baines, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones and Joe Mauer.
Several more have been selected All-Stars, with the likes of Casey Mize (2018) and Adley Rutschman (2019) most recently joining the illustrious list of number one draft picks to feature in the annual Midsummer Classic.
MLB No. 1 overall Draft picks
Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
1965 | Rick Monday | Kansas City Athletics |
1966 | Steve Chilcott | New York Mets |
1967 | Ron Blomberg | New York Yankees |
1968 | Tim Foli | New York Mets |
1969 | Jeff Burroughs | Washington Senators |
1970 | Mike Ivie | San Diego Padres |
1971 | Danny Goodwin | Chicago White Sox |
1972 | Dave Roberts | San Diego Padres |
1973 | David Clyde | Texas Rangers |
1974 | Bill Almon | San Diego Padres |
1975 | Danny Goodwin | California Angels |
1976 | Floyd Bannister | Houston Astros |
1977 | Harold Baines | Chicago White Sox |
1978 | Bob Horner | Atlanta Braves |
1979 | Al Chambers | Seattle Mariners |
1980 | Darryl Strawberry | New York Mets |
1981 | Mike Moore | Seattle Mariners |
1982 | Shawon Dunston | Chicago Cubs |
1983 | Tim Belcher | Minnesota Twins |
1984 | Shawn Abner | New York Mets |
1985 | B.J. Surhoff | Milwaukee Brewers |
1986 | Jeff King | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1987 | Ken Griffey Jr. | Seattle Mariners |
1988 | Andy Benes | San Diego Padres |
1989 | Ben McDonald | Baltimore Orioles |
1990 | Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves |
1991 | Brien Taylor | New York Yankees |
1992 | Phil Nevin | Houston Astros |
1993 | Alex Rodriguez | Seattle Mariners |
1994 | Paul Wilson | New York Mets |
1995 | Darin Erstad | California Angels |
1996 | Kris Benson | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1997 | Matt Anderson | Detroit Tigers |
1998 | Pat Burrell | Philadelphia Phillies |
1999 | Josh Hamilton | Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
2000 | Adrián González | Florida Marlins |
2001 | Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins |
2002 | Bryan Bullington | Pittsburgh Pirates |
2003 | Delmon Young | Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
2004 | Matt Bush | San Diego Padres |
2005 | Justin Upton | Arizona Diamondbacks |
2006 | Luke Hochevar | Kansas City Royals |
2007 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays |
2008 | Tim Beckham | Tampa Bay Rays |
2009 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals |
2010 | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals |
2011 | Gerrit Cole | Pittsburgh Pirates |
2012 | Carlos Correa | Houston Astros |
2013 | Mark Appel | Houston Astros |
2014 | Brady Aiken | Houston Astros |
2015 | Dansby Swanson | Arizona Diamondbacks |
2016 | Mickey Moniak | Philadelphia Phillies |
2017 | Royce Lewis | Minnesota Twins |
2018 | Casey Mize | Detroit Tigers |
2019 | Adley Rutschman | Baltimore Orioles |
2020 | Spencer Torkelson | Detroit Tigers |
2021 | Henry Davis | Pittsburgh Pirates |
2022 | Jackson Holliday | Baltimore Orioles |
2023 | Paul Skenes | Pittsburgh Pirates |
2024 | Travis Bazzana | Cleveland Guardians |
2025 | Eli Willits | Washington Nationals |
