Plot Synopsis

Each year since 1965, Major League Baseball (MLB) has held its first-year player draft on consecutive days in June, during which 30 Major League clubs participate in a conference call and take turns selecting eligible players over multiple rounds. The draft order in each round is determined by the reverse order of the clubs' won-lost records at the end of the previous regular season. According to MLB Official Rules, "Generally, a player is eligible for selection if the player is a resident of the United States or Canada and the player has never before signed a Major League or Minor League contract. Residents of Puerto Rico and other territories of the United States are eligible for the Draft. Also considered residents are players who enroll in a high school or college in the United States, regardless of where they are from originally." The MLB FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT (aka MLB DRAFT) was first televised live in 2007 by ESPN2 during mid-day, and the same cable channel broadcast the first round of the draft the following year, also during daytime hours. In 2009, the MLB DRAFT moved to the newly-formed MLB Network, which has televised the first round of the MLB DRAFT during primetime through 2019. ESPN platforms have carried live MLB DRAFT coverage since 2020, with an additional broadcast on MLB Network.
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On Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 7pm ET/4pm PT, ESPN and MLB Network nationally televised Day 1 of the 2024 MLB DRAFT from Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. The Draft features 20 rounds across the three days, including the first two rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds, and prospect promotion incentive selections on the opening night of the Draft -- a total of 74 picks, all televised on the first night. The Draft resumes at 2pm ET on Monday, July 15 with the first pick in Round 3, and continues through Round 10 on MLB.com. Day three of the Draft on Tuesday, July 16 begins at 2pm ET, featuring picks in rounds 11-20 on MLB.com.

The order of the first six picks in the Draft were determined via MLB's second annual Draft Lottery held at the Winter Meetings in December. Starting with the seventh selection, the remaining order is determined by the reverse order of finish at the close of the previous championship season among the remaining non-Postseason teams with Postseason teams ordered by their finish in the 2023 Postseason (i.e., the Texas Rangers will have the last selection in the first round after winning the 2023 World Series), with the exception of the Washington Nationals, who will have the 10th selection because they were ineligible for the lottery after receiving a lottery selection in the 2023 Draft. Additionally, the first-round selections of the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees were moved down 10 selections because those Clubs exceeded the second CBT payroll surcharge threshold in 2023. Both Arizona and Baltimore received Prospect Promotion Incentive Selections, to occur immediately following the end of the first round, as a product of Corbin Carroll (NL) and Gunnar Henderson (AL) winning the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards in their respective leagues.

MLB Network will produce comprehensive coverage of the MLB Draft Opening Night presented by Nike for the 16th consecutive year. MLB Network will air the first two rounds on Sunday, July 14th; beginning live at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (CT) from Cowtown Coliseum. Pick-by-pick analysis and breakdowns throughout the night will be provided by MLB Network's Greg Amsinger, Melanie Newman, Dan O'Dowd, Harold Reynolds, Xavier Scruggs, Marquee Sports Network's Lance Brozdowski, MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis, Baseball America's Carlos Collazo, and University of Tennessee head baseball coach and 2024 Men's College World Series champion Tony Vitello. Interviews with newly-drafted players, extensive highlight packages, footage from Club draft rooms, player profiles and interviews with front office personnel will be part of the telecast. MLB Network's Draft Pre-Show presented by Nike, including contributions from MLB Network's Buck Showalter, begins at 6pm ET.

In addition to ESPN's broadcast coverage, the first round of the MLB Draft will be available on the ESPN App and ESPN+. Karl Ravech will host the Draft for ESPN with analysts Eduardo Perez, Jessica Mendoza, Kyle Peterson, Chris Burke and Xavier Scruggs as well as MLB Insiders Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel.