MLB Draft 2025: Number of rounds, player eligibility, draft order, date, time
As the biggest names in Major League Baseball gather outside Atlanta for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, professional baseball will welcome in a new crop of players.
The 2025 MLB Draft will take place this week, running Sunday, July 13 and Monday, July 14 at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Cumberland, Georgia, located just across the street from Truist Park, the home field of the Atlanta Braves and the site of this year’s All-Star Game.
If things turn out as the teams drafting them hope, many of the players who hear their names called over those two days will one day find themselves in the Midsummer Classic.
After dominating on the mound to help lead his LSU team to a College World Series championship last month, left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Washington Nationals. A fellow lefty from the SEC, Tennessee’s Liam Doyle, is expected to go shortly after Anderson. Oklahoma high-school star Ethan Holliday has been popularly picked to go at No. 4 overall to the Colorado Rockies, where his father, Matt, was a three-time All-Star.
As the start of the draft approaches, here’s what you need to know about the event:
How many rounds are in the MLB Draft?
There are 20 rounds in the 2025 MLB Draft, which are set to include 615 total selections.
Who is eligible for the MLB draft?
A handful of requirements have to be met in order for a player to enter and be selected in the MLB draft.
A prospect must either be a resident or have attended a school in the United States, Canada or a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico. MLB has a separate period in which its teams can sign international players.
Additionally, players are only eligible after they’ve graduated from high school. If they’re at a four-year college, they are eligible only three years after they originally enrolled or after their 21st birthday, whichever comes first. Conversely, players from junior colleges are eligible to be drafted at any time.
Potential draftees can also have never previously signed a major- or minor-league contract.
MLB Draft order 2025
The Washington Nationals own the first pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The Nationals earned that spot through the MLB draft lottery, which was conducted during the MLB winter meetings in December 2024. MLB began using a lottery to determine the draft order, similar to what the NBA draft employs, in 2023.
Here’s a look at the first 10 picks:
- Washington Nationals
- Los Angeles Angels
- Seattle Mariners
- Colorado Rockies
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Miami Marlins
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Cincinnati Reds
- Chicago White Sox
To see the full 2025 MLB Draft order, click here.
When is the MLB Draft?
The 2025 MLB Draft will take place from July 13-14. The first night is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, with the first 43 selections airing live on ESPN and MLB Network. After those, only MLB Network will be providing live coverage of the picks.
The first day will include the first three rounds of the draft, as well as compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections. The second day will include Rounds 4 through 20 and will be streamed on MLB.com beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Why is the MLB draft in the middle of the season?
In contrast to the NFL and NBA drafts, which are staged after the season ends, the MLB draft takes place in the middle of the ongoing season. It’s held then to coincide with the end of college and high-school baseball seasons.
Can MLB teams trade draft picks?
Unlike in the other major American professional sports leagues, MLB teams cannot trade draft picks, going all the way back to the first amateur draft in 1965. Draft picks are tied to their teams for one full year after they sign.
Initially, there was a fear that teams would squander their picks. In 1985, the rule prohibiting trades was bolstered after the Montreal Expos traded first-round pick Pete Incaviglia to the Texas Rangers after Incaviglia wouldn’t sign with the Expos.
A notable exception to the ban on trades is in the MLB competitive balance draft.
MLB mock draft
Here's a look at what Paste BN's Gabe Lacques projects for the top 10 picks in his latest MLB mock draft:
- Washington Nationals: Ethan Holliday, INF, Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School
- Los Angeles Angels: Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
- Seattle Mariners: Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
- Colorado Rockies: Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (Oklahoma) High School
- St. Louis Cardinals: Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (California) High School
- Miami Marlins: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona (California) High School
- Toronto Blue Jays: Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
- Cincinnati Reds: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
- Chicago White Sox: Ike Irish, C/OF, Auburn
To see all projected first-round picks, click here.