The Major League Baseball draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lottery where the teams who did not make the postseason in the past year participate in a state-lottery style process to determine the first six picks, starting in 2023. The team possessing the worst record receives the best odds of receiving the first pick. Until 2022, it was determined by the previous season's standings, with the worst team selecting first.
The 2003 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 3 and 4. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams.
The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5.
The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first overall pick.
Free agency in Major League Baseball (MLB) concerns players whose contracts with a team have expired and who are therefore eligible to sign with another team. Free agents may be eligible for pendulum arbitration, also called "salary arbitration" or just "arbitration" in baseball circles.
