Major League Baseball announced some details of its 2012 First-Year Player Draft (as the draft is now officially termed) by press release on Tuesday; several teams will get multiple picks in the first two rounds because of the loss of Type A free agents:
2012 MLB Draft Order Set
Several teams will get multiple compensatory picks in the 2012 MLB Draft; the order of teams was released on Tuesday.
For the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, compensation picks have been assigned to Clubs whose Type A or Type B free agents signed with other Clubs and/or to Clubs that did not sign a player who was chosen in the first three rounds of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. The Houston Astros will have the first overall selection of the 2012 Draft, marking the third time in Club history it has the top choice (previous: 1976, 1992). Four Clubs have two first round picks: the Toronto Blue Jays (17th and 22nd), the St. Louis Cardinals (19th and 23rd), the Boston Red Sox (24th and 31st) and the Milwaukee Brewers (27th and 28th). The Cardinals have five of the first 59 selections and the Blue Jays hold five of the first 60 picks.
In 2013, there will still be compensatory picks, but only if a player is signed to a top-tier salary at his position. Don’t ask me to explain it; even some front offices don’t completely understand it yet.
Also, this year’s draft will be 40 rounds instead of 50. Via Wikipedia, here’s a list of the first- and compensatory-round picks. You can watch the first round and compensatory round live on MLB Network on June 4, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
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