The first recreational Major League Baseball Draft was held in the month of June 1965. Initially, drafts were held on three different occasions. The June draft involved new high school graduates as well as college seniors. The January draft was for players who graduated in winter. Finally, the August draft included the players who participated in the amateur summer leagues. In the early times, majority of the drafted players were directly taken from the high school level. Although the numbers of players that have been drafted from the high school level have dropped considerably, the players who have persisted are more successful than their forerunners.
Eligibility conditions for the Draft:
The eligibility conditions for a player to be drafted are as follows:
The player has to be a resident of the United States, Canada, or an American territory such as Puerto Rico. Other countries are not allowed in the draft.
The player need not sign a major as well as a minor league contract.
High school players are eligible only after they complete their graduation or if they have not attended college.
Four-year college students are eligible only after completing their junior years or if they complete 25 years of age. Division 3 school players can be drafted before their junior years.
Junior and community college players can be drafted any time.
Compensatory Picks in the Drafting Process:
In the Major League Baseball draft process, the picks have to be made very quickly as compared to other sports. Each team gets a time of only five minutes to select a player or pass him when their turn arises. The compensatory round takes place first, but prior to the second round of the draft. The orders of picks in this round are ascertained by inverse standings.
