The MLB Draft is an annual event where Major League Baseball franchises select amateur baseball players from all over the world. The MLB Draft consists of three rounds with the first round being the most important.
After the first round is completed, teams then move on to the second and third rounds. In this article, we will take a look at the eligibility requirements for the MLB Draft and when the second round of the Draft takes place.
Overview of the MLB Draft Process
The MLB Draft is an annual event in which the 30 Major League Baseball franchises select eligible amateur baseball players. The primary goal of the MLB Draft is for teams to acquire new talent to build strong and competitive rosters.
The draft order is determined based on the standings from the previous season with the team with the worst record picking first and teams with a winning record drafting last. All amateur and international players, as well as high school graduates, college students, and draft-eligible college freshman may be selected in Rounds 1-15. Any player who has not yet graduated from high school can agree to terms beginning at any point up until one week prior to their graduation day though they cannot sign a contract until they are 18 years old or one year past their high school graduation, whichever comes earlier.
When it comes to determining when specific rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft will take place, this is typically announced each October prior to when pick selections begin in June. Generally speaking, Round 1 takes place on a Monday evening followed by Rounds 2-3 occurring on Tuesday and Rounds 4-10 taking place over Wednesdays/Thursdays followed by Rounds 11-30 completing by Saturday evening of draft week.
When Is the Second Round of the MLB Draft
The Major League Baseball (MLB) draft is held annually in June, with teams selecting eligible amateur players in the United States and Canada. The first round of the MLB draft is typically held on a Monday night at the MLB Network’s Studio 42, while the second and third rounds are broadcast on Tuesday evenings. In 2020, the first round of the MLB draft was held on June 10 and all rounds were conducted online due to health protocols related to COVID-19.
The order of selections in each round is determined by reverse order of win-loss records from the previous season; teams with winning records make their selections earlier than teams with losing records. Each team has five minutes per selection during rounds one through ten, ten minutes per selection during rounds 11 through 25, and fifteen minutes per selection for subsequent rounds.
When it comes to eligibility for the MLB Draft, players must meet one of three criteria: 1) be eligible for U.S. high school graduation as a domestic or resident player (including player who attended high school outside of North America); 2) be enrolled in college; or 3) have played baseball professionally outside North America within four years prior to the draft’s date. Players must also turn 18 years old or older before August 1 prior to their anticipated year of entry into professional baseball in order for them to sign with a club or play professionally in Major League Baseball. This means that a player who will turn 18 after August 1 would have to wait until they are eligible before they can enter into an agreement with an MLB team during that same year’s Draft process.
Who Is Eligible for the MLB Draft?
The Major League Baseball draft is an annual event in which all 30 Major League Baseball teams select amateur players who wish to join their organization.
All players who are eligible to enter the draft must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible to join a team. This criteria includes their age, the type of school from which they graduated, and their draft eligibility status.
Let’s take a look at who can be eligible for the MLB draft and when the second round of the MLB draft takes place.
High School Players
High school players are eligible for the MLB Draft if they will be at least 17 years old on the signing deadline date and have graduated from high school within the past year.
If they have not yet graduated, they are eligible to enter the draft if their high school class has already graduated, or if they will turn 19 years of age before September 1 of that same year.
Any player who is eligible to enter the MLB Draft out of high school may instead choose to attend college, as long as he has been academically cleared by an NCAA Eligibility Center prior to or within one year following selection in an amateur draft.
Players who choose this route can still be drafted by a Major League team, but must re-enter the amateur draft during a subsequent year.
College Players
The Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft is an annual event in which teams from the 30 MLB organizations select amateur baseball players from a pool of eligible college and high school players. Players who have graduated from high school and are not enrolled in college are eligible for the draft, as are all college players who meet the requirements of Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft rules.
College Players
College players, regardless of class standing, become eligible for selection in the MLB Draft upon completion of one full academic year at an accredited four-year college or university. This “academic year” is defined as having completed either two semesters or three quarters by July 1st prior to the draft date. In addition, some junior college players may also be eligible depending on how their degree program fits into the requirements set forth by MLB’s Amateur Draft rules or through special requests made to MLB offices.
High School Players & International Players
In addition to U.S.-based College players, High School players and International prospects may also be chosen in the MLB Draft. High School players must have graduated from high school before signing with a major league organization, while international prospects must not have turned 21 years old before June 5th following their selection in order to remain subject to bonus pool restrictions imposed by Major League Baseball since 2012 (known as “July 2nd” rule).
International Players
International players are eligible to be drafted in the MLB entry draft. All amateurs aged 17-20, regardless of physical country of residence, are eligible to be selected in the draft. However, any international player over 25 years old must sign a five-year contract before they can be officially added to an MLB roster. Additionally, all international players who have not earned college degrees or gone through MLB’s posting system must wait until after their current contract expires before they can join an MLB team.
When it comes to the actual specifics of the draft, international players will generally fall into the second round of selections if they decide to enter their respective year’s draft eligible class. In addition, while most countries are allowed to nominate three players each year for consideration, nations such as The Netherlands and South Africa have been granted four slots per year due to their commitment towards developing more diverse talent internationally.
Players Who Have Previously Declined To Sign
Players who have previously declined to sign a contract with any Major League Baseball team are eligible for the MLB Draft once they have completed their college or high school academic requirements, or they have not attended either institution. Players with previous professional baseball experience in a foreign country, unaffiliated in any way to MLB, may also be considered eligible after completing the necessary paperwork and receiving approval from MLB. It is important to note that prior selections by teams cannot declare for an additional year of draft eligibility if the player has not yet signed.
Additionally, players from Canada or an American jurisdiction outside of the United States who do not meet NCAA requirements—which include but are not limited to a high school degree—are able to declare themselves eligible provided they turn 18 by June 4th of the draft year, though they must still abide by their corresponding provinces’ laws which require them to submit documentation that prove age and residency status. Players who proclaim themselves eligible must complete paperwork associated with their declaration several weeks before the draft takes place and submit it to the Commissioner’s Office for analysis before being listed amongst those available for selection.
Second Round of the MLB Draft
The second round of the MLB Draft is the next stage after the first round. It is the start of the draft and it allows teams to take fewer risks by adding players who have already been scouted by team scouts.
This section will explore when the second round of the MLB Draft takes place and who is eligible to be drafted in this round.
Overview of the Second Round
The second round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft is an exciting time for amateur baseball players and agents. This is the point at which players get to see if they’ve done enough to be selected by a Major League team.
The MLB first-year player draft is held in June of each year, but it starts off with two rounds of selections on the first day and a Competitive Balance Round A on the second day. The second round immediately follows the first round, and consists primarily of high school players who were passed over in the first round but still demonstrate significant upside. There are higher bonus pools available in this round than in the subsequent rounds.
A typical second-round MLB Draft order goes like this: teams with a supplemental pick from competitive balance selection directly followed by teams that lost a qualified free agent, then teams that receive compensatory picks after signing a qualified free agent from another team. Teams with multiple compensatory picks can choose when to use them in any order within their own section of the draft; for example, if Team X had both Competitive Balance Pick A and Second Round Pick 16, it could chose to use these two picks back-to-back or separate them into different positions in their Second Round order as they desire.
In terms of eligibility requirements for Draft prospects in this round, most will be high school players who are either juniors or seniors (of course college prospects may also appear). Those eligible must have sat out at least one year from organized competitive baseball before entering into the draft pool; international players must also have 24 months between their last active season and their Date Of Birth specified on file with MLB. Players under 21 years of age will usually have gone through several scouting Combine sessions with professional scouts prior to being considered for selection during this ‘Second Round’ period.
Eligibility for the Second Round
In order to be eligible for the second round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, a baseball player must meet certain criteria as set forth in the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Players who have previously played in a professional baseball league outside the United States and Canada, such as in Japan, Mexico or Latin America, are ineligible regardless of whether they are amateurs or professionals.
High school seniors who have completed base call instruction prior to the draft are also considered ineligible. College juniors declared as regular undergraduates by their schools prior to the draft and who maintain that status throughout their college careers are also considered ineligible unless they subsequently receive written permission from their educational institution’s chief academic officer.
Additional qualifications include having participated in at least 90 percent of one’s school’s varsity games during either junior or senior year; signing with an agent/adviser; paying any fee or entering into any contract for representation; or having a degree evaluated by an accredited education evaluation service approved by MLB. Players must also be at least 17 years old on the date of the draft.
Draft Order for the Second Round
The Draft order for the second round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft follows the same pattern as that of the first round. All 30 teams receive a turn to make their selections, with those having had poor performances in the previous season receiving more chances in earlier rounds.
In the second round of the MLB Draft, teams are given a pick one after another in reverse order from their finish result from last season. So, for example, if Team A won the World Series, they get the last pick in each round — in this case Round 32. The team with worst regular-season record gets first pick in each round — i.e., Round 33. Then Team B who scored second-worst that year would get right after that — i.e., Round 34 – and so on until all 30 teams have had their turn making picks by Round 61.
The MLB has also created specific draft rules and regulations surrounding compensation picks within this reverse-order trend; these picks are included within Round 2 as well and go to teams whose star players have missed out on qualifying or offensive eligibility requirements or have been included under Compensation Free Agent signing by other teams from previous season(s). There has been a recent change to this system, where MLB teams may be allotted up to four bonus picks provided they meet certain eligibility criterion over five drafts; however these weren’t applicable for 2019 Draft’s Second Round selection process outlining specifically which team gets which pick at what stage thus far and will remain so until such time as new regulations come into place later down the line governing future drafts.
