# 1972 Major League Baseball draft

The 1972 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1972 MLB season. The draft saw the San Diego Padres select Dave Roberts first overall.

## First round selections

| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
| 1 | Dave Roberts | San Diego Padres | 3B | University of Oregon |
| 2 | Rick Manning | Cleveland Indians | SS | Niagara Falls, New York |
| 3 | Larry Christenson | Philadelphia Phillies | RHP | Marysville, Washington |
| 4 | Roy Howell | Texas Rangers | 3B | Lompoc, California |
| 5 | Bob Goodman | Montreal Expos | C | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 6 | Dan Thomas | Milwaukee Brewers | 1B | Southern Illinois University |
| 7 | Larry Payne | Cincinnati Reds | RHP | Bedias, Texas |
| 8 | Dick Ruthven | Minnesota Twins | RHP | Fresno State University |
| 9 | Steve Englishbey | Houston Astros | OF | Houston, Texas |
| 10 | Dave Chalk | Los Angeles Angels | 3B | University of Texas |
| 11 | Preston Hanna | Atlanta Braves | RHP | Pensacola, Florida |
| 12 | Mike Ondina | Chicago White Sox | OF | Rancho Cordova, California |
| 13 | Richard Bengston | New York Mets | C | Peoria, Illinois |
| 14 | Scott McGregor | New York Yankees | LHP | El Segundo, California |
| 15 | Brian Vernoy | Chicago Cubs | LHP | Westminster, California |
| 16 | Joel Bishop | Boston Red Sox | SS | Sacramento, California |
| 17 | John Harbin | Los Angeles Dodgers | SS | Newberry College |
| 18 | Jamie Quirk | Kansas City Royals | SS | Whittier, California |
| 19 | Rob Dressler | San Francisco Giants | RHP | Portland, Oregon |
| 20 | Jerry Manuel | Detroit Tigers | SS | Rancho Cordova, California |
| 21 | Dan Larson | St. Louis Cardinals | RHP | Alhambra, California |
| 22 | Chet Lemon | Oakland Athletics | SS | Los Angeles |
| 23 | Dwayne Peltier | Pittsburgh Pirates | SS | Anaheim, California |
| 24 | Ken Thomas | Baltimore Orioles | C | Bellville, Ohio |
* Did not sign

## Other notable selections

| = All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
| Round | Pick | Player | Team | Position |
| 2 | 29 | Ellis Valentine | Montreal Expos | Catcher-Outfielder |
| 2 | 42 | Dennis Leonard | Kansas City Royals | Pitcher |
| 2 | 43 | Bob Knepper | San Francisco Giants | Pitcher |
| 2 | 47 | John Candelaria | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pitcher |
| 3 | 50 | Dennis Eckersley | Cleveland Indians | Pitcher |
| 3 | 53 | Gary Carter | Montreal Expos | Catcher |
| 3 | 61 | Craig Swan | New York Mets | Pitcher |
| 5 | 97 | Randy Jones | San Diego Padres | Pitcher |
| 7 | 167 | Willie Randolph | Pittsburgh Pirates | Shortstop-Catcher |
| 8 | 172 | Jim Sundberg | Texas Rangers | Catcher |
| 14 | 336 | Rick Honeycutt* | Baltimore Orioles | Shortstop |
| 15 | 353 | Jason Thompson* | Los Angeles Dodgers | Pitcher-First Baseman |
| 17 | 401 | Glenn Burke | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder |
| 17 | 404 | Vern Ruhle | Detroit Tigers | Pitcher |
| 25 | 572 | Mike Hargrove | Texas Rangers | First Baseman |
| 26 | 596 | Lyman Bostock | Minnesota Twins | Outfielder |
* Did not sign

## Background

The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franchise history. The Expos grabbed outfielder Ellis Valentine in round two of the June regular phase and then selected catcher Gary Carter one round later. The Pirates also did well, selecting pitcher John Candelaria in round two and second baseman Willie Randolph in round seven.
Some of the significant picks from the regular phase in June included Dennis Eckersley and Rick Manning (Cleveland). Scott McGregor (New York Yankees) in round one. Also selected in the first round were Chet Lemon (Oakland), Larry Christenson (Philadelphia) and the number one pick, Dave Roberts (San Diego). Roberts went directly to the Padres starting third base position from the University of Oregon campus. The biggest steal was pulled off by the Texas Rangers when they selected infielder Mike Hargrove from Northwestern State University in the 25th round.
Jerry Manuel and Mike Ondina became the first pair of high school teammates to be drafted in the first round of a Major League draft. Both attended Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California.