List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks - wikipedia List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks Ken Griffey, Jr., the 1987 first overall pick The First - Year Player Draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is Major League Baseball 's ( MLB ) primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. Unlike most professional sports, MLB does not permit the trading of draft picks, so the draft order is solely determined by the previous season 's standings ; the team that possesses the worst record receives the first pick. If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off - season may be awarded `` compensatory '' picks. The first draft took place in 1965 ; it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top - level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high - school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986. In 1965, Rick Monday became MLB 's first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics. Royce Lewis is the most recent first overall pick ; he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2017. Overall, 23 of the 50 picks before 2015 have participated in the All - Star Game, and three ( Bob Horner, Darryl Strawberry, and Bryce Harper ) have won the Rookie of the Year Award. Twenty - five of the fifty picks before 2015 have been drafted from high schools, one has been drafted out of the Independent American Association, and the others were drafted from universities. To date, Arizona State University and Vanderbilt University are the only schools from which multiple number - one overall draft picks have been chosen. No first overall pick was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame until 2016, when Ken Griffey, Jr. was inducted with a record 99.3 % of votes cast. In the 53 drafts that have taken place through 2017, 22 of the 30 MLB franchises have had the first pick at least once. The Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies have never had the first pick. The Montreal Expos never had the first pick, but the Nationals have had it twice. The Oakland Athletics have never had the first pick, but the Kansas City Athletics had the very first pick in MLB Draft history. The New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Houston Astros have each had the first pick 5 times, and the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tampa Bay Rays have each had the first pick four times. Contents 1 Key 2 Draft 3 By Franchise 4 Footnotes 5 References Key Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame * All - Star Rookie of the Year and All - Star Retired without playing a game in MLB Player did not sign italics Active player Draft Harold Baines, the 1977 first overall pick Chipper Jones, the 1990 first overall pick Alex Rodriguez, the 1993 first overall pick Pat Burrell, the 1998 first overall pick Joe Mauer, the 2001 first overall pick Year Player Team Position Club / School 1965 Monday, Rick Rick Monday * Kansas City Athletics Outfielder Arizona State University 1966 Chilcott, Steve Steve Chilcott New York Mets Catcher Antelope Valley High School ( Lancaster, California ) 1967 Blomberg, Ron Ron Blomberg New York Yankees First baseman Druid Hills High School ( Druid Hills, Georgia ) 1968 Foli, Tim Tim Foli New York Mets Shortstop Notre Dame High School ( Sherman Oaks, California ) 1969 Burroughs, Jeff Jeff Burroughs * Washington Senators Outfielder Woodrow Wilson Classical High School ( Long Beach, California ) 1970 Ivie, Mike Mike Ivie San Diego Padres Catcher Walker High School ( Atlanta, Georgia ) 1971 Goodwin, Danny Danny Goodwin ° Chicago White Sox Catcher Peoria High School ( Peoria, Illinois ) 1972 Roberts, Dave Dave Roberts San Diego Padres Third baseman University of Oregon 1973 Clyde, David David Clyde Texas Rangers Left - handed pitcher Westchester High School ( Houston, Texas ) Almon, Bill Bill Almon San Diego Padres Shortstop Brown University Goodwin, Danny Danny Goodwin California Angels Catcher Southern University 1976 Bannister, Floyd Floyd Bannister * Houston Astros Left - handed pitcher Arizona State University 1977 Baines, Harold Harold Baines * Chicago White Sox Outfielder St. Michaels Middle / High School ( St. Michaels, Maryland ) 1978 Horner, Bob Bob Horner Atlanta Braves Third baseman Arizona State University 1979 Chambers, Al Al Chambers Seattle Mariners Outfielder John Harris High School ( Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ) 1980 Strawberry, Darryl Darryl Strawberry New York Mets Outfielder Crenshaw High School ( Los Angeles, California ) 1981 Moore, Mike Mike Moore * Seattle Mariners Right - handed pitcher Oral Roberts University 1982 Dunston, Shawon Shawon Dunston * Chicago Cubs Shortstop Thomas Jefferson High School ( Brooklyn, New York ) Belcher, Tim Tim Belcher ° Minnesota Twins Right - handed pitcher Mount Vernon Nazarene University 1984 Abner, Shawn Shawn Abner New York Mets Outfielder Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School ( Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania ) 1985 Surhoff, B.J. B.J. Surhoff * Milwaukee Brewers Catcher University of North Carolina 1986 King, Jeff Jeff King Pittsburgh Pirates Third baseman University of Arkansas Griffey, Jr., Ken Ken Griffey, Jr. * Seattle Mariners Outfielder Moeller High School ( Cincinnati, Ohio ) Benes, Andy Andy Benes * San Diego Padres Right - handed pitcher University of Evansville 1989 McDonald, Ben Ben McDonald Baltimore Orioles Right - handed pitcher Louisiana State University 1990 Jones, Chipper Chipper Jones * Atlanta Braves Shortstop Bolles High School ( Jacksonville, Florida ) 1991 Taylor, Brien Brien Taylor New York Yankees Left - handed pitcher East Carteret High School ( Beaufort, North Carolina ) Nevin, Phil Phil Nevin * Houston Astros Third baseman California State University, Fullerton 1993 Rodriguez, Alex Alex Rodriguez * Seattle Mariners Shortstop Westminster Christian High School ( Palmetto Bay, Florida ) 1994 Wilson, Paul Paul Wilson New York Mets Right - handed pitcher Florida State University 1995 Erstad, Darin Darin Erstad * California Angels Outfielder University of Nebraska -- Lincoln Benson, Kris Kris Benson Pittsburgh Pirates Right - handed pitcher Clemson University Anderson, Matt Matt Anderson Detroit Tigers Right - handed pitcher Rice University 1998 Burrell, Pat Pat Burrell Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder University of Miami 1999 Hamilton, Josh Josh Hamilton * Tampa Bay Devil Rays Outfielder Athens Drive High School ( Raleigh, North Carolina ) 2000 Gonzalez, Adrian Adrian Gonzalez * Florida Marlins First baseman Eastlake High School ( Chula Vista, California ) 2001 Mauer, Joe Joe Mauer * Minnesota Twins Catcher Cretin - Derham Hall High School ( St. Paul, Minnesota ) 2002 Bullington, Bryan Bryan Bullington Pittsburgh Pirates Right - handed pitcher Ball State University 2003 Young, Delmon Delmon Young Tampa Bay Devil Rays Outfielder Adolfo Camarillo High School ( Camarillo, California ) Bush, Matt Matt Bush San Diego Padres Shortstop Mission Bay Senior High School ( San Diego, California ) 2005 Upton, Justin Justin Upton * Arizona Diamondbacks Shortstop Great Bridge High School ( Chesapeake, Virginia ) 2006 Hochevar, Luke Luke Hochevar Kansas City Royals Right - handed pitcher Fort Worth Cats 2007 Price, David David Price * Tampa Bay Rays Left - handed pitcher Vanderbilt University 2008 Beckham, Tim Tim Beckham Tampa Bay Rays Shortstop Griffin High School ( Griffin, Georgia ) 2009 Strasburg, Stephen Stephen Strasburg * Washington Nationals Right - handed pitcher San Diego State University Harper, Bryce Bryce Harper Washington Nationals Outfielder / Catcher College of Southern Nevada 2011 Cole, Gerrit Gerrit Cole * Pittsburgh Pirates Right - handed pitcher University of California, Los Angeles 2012 Correa, Carlos Carlos Correa Houston Astros Shortstop Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School 2013 Appel, Mark Mark Appel Houston Astros Right - handed pitcher Stanford University 2014 Aiken, Brady Brady Aiken ° Houston Astros Left - handed pitcher Cathedral Catholic High School ( San Diego, California ) 2015 Swanson, Dansby Dansby Swanson Arizona Diamondbacks Shortstop Vanderbilt University 2016 Mickey Moniak Philadelphia Phillies Outfielder La Costa Canyon High School ( Carlsbad, California ) 2017 Royce Lewis Minnesota Twins Shortstop JSerra Catholic High School ( San Juan Capistrano, California ) By Franchise Franchise Total Picks Most Recent Year Arizona Diamondbacks 2015 Atlanta Braves 1990 Baltimore Orioles 1989 Boston Red Sox 0 -- Chicago Cubs 1982 Chicago White Sox 1977 Cincinnati Reds 0 -- Cleveland Indians 0 -- Colorado Rockies 0 -- Detroit Tigers 2018 Houston Astros 5 2014 Kansas City Royals 2006 Los Angeles Dodgers 0 -- Los Angeles Angels 1995 Miami Marlins 2000 Milwaukee Brewers 1985 Minnesota Twins 2017 New York Mets 5 1994 New York Yankees 1991 Oakland Athletics 1965 Philadelphia Phillies 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates 2011 San Diego Padres 5 San Francisco Giants 0 -- Seattle Mariners 1993 St. Louis Cardinals 0 -- Tampa Bay Rays 2008 Texas Rangers 1973 Toronto Blue Jays 0 -- Washington Nationals Footnotes Baseball portal Goodwin chose to attend university instead of signing with the Chicago White Sox, and re-entered the draft once he graduated in 1975. Hochevar played college baseball for the University of Tennessee, and was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005, but did not agree to a contract. He re-entered the draft in 2006 after spending the previous year with the independent Fort Worth Cats. References General `` Baseball Draft : First overall picks in the June Draft ''. Baseball-Reference.com. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008. Specific Jump up ^ Jim Moloney ( June 8, 2005 ). `` Trading picks would reshape draft ''. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 29, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` First Year Player Draft FAQ ''. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 29, 2008. Jump up ^ Simpson, Allan ( June 4, 2005 ). `` Bonus Concerns Created Draft ; Yet Still Exist ''. Baseball America. Retrieved February 16, 2007. Jump up ^ Koppett, Leonard ( February 28, 1965 ). `` Baseball 's New Draft ''. New York Times. pp. S2. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Year Draft Results : Supplemental Phase ''. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved February 18, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Ken Griffey Jr. ( 99 percent of vote ), Mike Piazza head to Cooperstown ''. ESPN.com news services. January 6, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Draft Report : 1970s ''. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 1, 2009. Major League Baseball number one overall draft picks 1965 : Rick Monday 1966 : Steve Chilcott 1967 : Ron Blomberg 1968 : Tim Foli 1969 : Jeff Burroughs 1970 : Mike Ivie 1971 : Danny Goodwin 1972 : Dave Roberts 1973 : David Clyde 1974 : Bill Almon 1975 : Danny Goodwin 1976 : Floyd Bannister 1977 : Harold Baines 1978 : Bob Horner 1979 : Al Chambers 1980 : Darryl Strawberry 1981 : Mike Moore 1982 : Shawon Dunston 1983 : Tim Belcher 1984 : Shawn Abner 1985 : B.J. Surhoff 1986 : Jeff King 1987 : Ken Griffey Jr. 1988 : Andy Benes 1989 : Ben McDonald 1990 : Chipper Jones 1991 : Brien Taylor 1992 : Phil Nevin 1993 : Alex Rodriguez 1994 : Paul Wilson 1995 : Darin Erstad 1996 : Kris Benson 1997 : Matt Anderson 1998 : Pat Burrell 1999 : Josh Hamilton 2000 : Adrian Gonzalez 2001 : Joe Mauer 2002 : Bryan Bullington 2003 : Delmon Young 2004 : Matt Bush 2005 : Justin Upton 2006 : Luke Hochevar 2007 : David Price 2008 : Tim Beckham 2009 : Stephen Strasburg 2010 : Bryce Harper 2011 : Gerrit Cole 2012 : Carlos Correa 2013 : Mark Appel 2014 : Brady Aiken 2015 : Dansby Swanson 2016 : Mickey Moniak 2017 : Royce Lewis Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_first_overall_Major_League_Baseball_draft_picks&oldid=803370776 '' Categories : Major League Baseball draft Major League Baseball first - round draft picks Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use mdy dates from June 2015 Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia 日本 語 Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 2 October 2017, at 03 : 04. 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Question: who was the first overall pick in the 2017 mlb draft
Answer: Royce Lewis