Last year’s MLB season is in the record books, with the Los Angeles Dodgers emerging as the World Series champions, and the 2025 season has reached the halfway point. Every baseball fan knows what that means: It’s time for the 2025 MLB Draft!
The annual MLB Draft is one of the best chances an MLB team has to fill out its roster and restock its minor league talent pipeline. Excited to see which top draft prospects your favorite team lands this year?
Here’s your complete guide to the 2025 MLB Draft!
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When is the MLB Draft?
The 2025 MLB Draft will begin on July 13, 2025 at 6 p.m. ET
How to Watch the MLB Draft
The 2025 MLB Draft will be broadcast on ESPN and the MLB Network on Day 1 and streamed on MLB.com on Day 2. Here’s the full schedule to watch live:
Day 1 (Rounds 1 – 3): 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, MLB Network
Day 2 (Rounds 4 – 20): 11:30 a.m. ET on MLB.com
How Does the MLB Draft Work?
So, how does the MLB Draft work? First, the league determines the draft order. That’s done in two steps: a lottery and a reverse-standings ranking.
Draft Order & Special Picks
Lottery System: The first six picks of the MLB draft are determined by a draft lottery. All of the teams that did not make the postseason in the previous season are eligible to participate. This is done to discourage teams from intentionally losing, also known as “tanking,” their season to get the best draft pick the following offseason.
Reverse Standings Order: The rest of the picks are assigned in reverse order of the prior season’s final standings, with the worst-performing teams getting the earlier picks.
Aside from the official round-by-round draft order, teams can also receive extra picks for a variety of reasons, including:
- Compensation picks for teams that lose a free agent and don’t sign a new player.
- Competitive Balance picks, which are awarded to small-market teams between the first three rounds.
- Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) picks, awarded to teams that promote a top prospect ahead of Opening Day who then goes on to win Rookie of the Year or places highly in the MVP/Cy Young Award voting within their first three seasons.
Slot Value & Bonus Pool
The first 10 picks of the MLB Draft are assigned a “slot value” by the league, which is the recommended signing bonus amount, and each team receives a total “bonus pool” equal to the sum of all of the slot values among their picks.
Teams that exceed their assigned bonus pool can face penalties, including loss of future draft picks and overage taxes. This effectively enforces a hard spending cap on the draft. (Curious which teams pay their players the most in 2025? Find out here!)
Here are the five teams with the highest bonus pools in the 2025 draft:
- Seattle Mariners: $17 million
- Tampa Bay Rays: $16.6 million
- Los Angeles Angels: $16.6 million
- Washington Nationals: $16.5 million
- Baltimore Orioles: $16.5 million
2025 MLB Draft Order
Here’s the complete, round-by-round draft order for the 2025 MLB Draft:
First Round
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- Seattle Mariners
- Colorado Rockies
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Miami Marlins
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Cincinnati Reds
- Chicago White Sox
- Athletics
- Texas Rangers
- San Francisco Giants
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- Chicago Cubs
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- San Diego Padres
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick
- Kansas City Royals
Compensation Picks
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
Competitive Balance Round A
- Boston Red Sox (Acquired from Brewers for Quinn Priester)
- Detroit Tigers
- Seattle Mariners
- Minnesota Twins
- Tampa Bay Rays
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Los Angeles Dodgers (from Reds for Gavin Lux)
- Tampa Bay Rays (from Athletics for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez)
- Miami Marlins
Second Round
- Chicago White Sox
- Colorado Rockies
- Miami Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Athletics
- Washington Nationals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Texas Rangers
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Minnesota Twins
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
- Los Angeles Dodgers
Competitive Balance Round B
- Cleveland Guardians
- Tampa Bay Rays (comp. for unsigned Tyler Bell)
- Milwaukee Brewers (comp. for unsigned Chris Levonas)
- Baltimore Orioles
- Cleveland Guardians (from D-backs for Josh Naylor)
- Kansas City Royals
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Colorado Rockies
Compensation Pick
- Boston Red Sox (for Nick Pivetta; Padres forfeited 2nd-round pick)
Third Round
- Chicago White Sox
- Colorado Rockies
- Miami Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Washington Nationals
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Texas Rangers
- San Francisco Giants
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- San Diego Padres
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
Compensation Pick
- Los Angeles Angels
Fourth Round
- Chicago White Sox
- Colorado Rockies
- Miami Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Athletics
- Washington Nationals
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Texas Rangers
- San Francisco Giants
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- San Diego Padres
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
Compensation Pick
- Atlanta Braves
Fifth Round
- Chicago White Sox
- Colorado Rockies
- Miami Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Athletics
- Washington Nationals
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Texas Rangers
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Minnesota Twins
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Chicago Cubs
- Seattle Mariners
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Houston Astros
- Atlanta Braves
- Kansas City Royals
- Detroit Tigers
- San Diego Padres
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Cleveland Guardians
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 MLB Draft Prospects: Top 30 Best Players
So, which players will the MLB’s teams be salivating over this year? Ethan Holliday, Kade Anderson and Seth Hernandez are the top three prospects right now.
Here are the 30 most promising players available in this year’s MLB draft.
| Rank | Player | Position | Bats / Throws |
| 1 | Ethan Holliday | SS/3B | R / R |
| 2 | Kade Anderson | LHP | L / L |
| 3 | Seth Hernandez | RHP | R / R |
| 4 | Jamie Arnold | LHP | L / L |
| 5 | Eli Willits | SS | S / R |
| 6 | Aiva Arquette | SS | R / R |
| 7 | Billy Carlson | SS | R / R |
| 8 | Liam Doyle | LHP | L / L |
| 9 | JoJo Parker | SS | L / R |
| 10 | Kyson Witherspoon | RHP | R / R |
| 11 | Ike Irish | OF/C | L / R |
| 12 | Steele Hall | SS | R / R |
| 13 | Daniel Pierce | SS | R / R |
| 14 | Kayson Cunningham | SS/2B | L / R |
| 15 | Marek Houston | SS | R / R |
| 16 | Brendan Summerhill | OF | L / L |
| 17 | Wehiwa Aloy | SS | R / R |
| 18 | Tyler Bremner | RHP | R / R |
| 19 | Kruz Schoolcraft | LHP | L / L |
| 20 | Jace LaViolette | OF | L / L |
| 21 | Gavin Kilen | 2B | L / R |
| 22 | Gavin Fien | 3B | R / R |
| 23 | Gage Wood | RHP | R / R |
| 24 | Slater de Brun | OF | L / L |
| 25 | Xavier Neyens | 3B | L / R |
| 26 | Josh Hammond | 3B | R / R |
| 27 | Sean Gamble | 2B/OF | L / R |
| 28 | Ethan Conrad | OF | R / R |
| 29 | Andrew Fischer | 1B/3B | L / R |
| 30 | Devin Taylor | OF | L / R |
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Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2025 MLB Draft?
The 2025 MLB Draft starts on July 13, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Who has the first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft?
The Washington Nationals have the first pick of the 2025 MLB Draft
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