List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks

The first-year player draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is the primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Unlike most professional sports, MLB does not permit the trading of draft picks. Since 2023, the first six selections are determined by a lottery; the previous season's standings determine the remaining selections. If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded "compensatory" picks. The first draft took place in 1965; it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college seniors who had just finished their seasons. The second draft took place in January for high school and college players who had graduated in December. The third draft took place in August and was for players who participated in American amateur summer leagues. The August draft was eliminated after two years, and the January draft lasted until 1986.

In 1965, Rick Monday became MLB's first draft pick after being selected by the Kansas City Athletics. Eli Willits is the most recent first overall pick; he was drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2025. Overall, 23 of the 50 picks before 2015 have participated in the All-Star Game, and four (Bob Horner, Darryl Strawberry, Bryce Harper, and Carlos Correa) have won the Rookie of the Year Award. Twenty-five of the fifty picks before 2015 have been drafted from high schools, one has been drafted out of the Independent American Association, and the others were drafted from universities. To date, Arizona State University, Vanderbilt University, Louisiana State University, and Oregon State University are the only schools from which multiple number-one overall draft picks have been chosen. No first overall pick was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame until 2016, when Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted with a record 99.3 percent of votes cast. Griffey has since been joined by three other top picks: Chipper Jones, inducted in 2018; Harold Baines, elected in December 2018 and inducted in July 2019, and Joe Mauer, inducted in 2024.

In the 60 drafts that have taken place through 2024, 23 of the 30 MLB franchises have had the first pick at least once. The Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies have never had the first pick. The Montreal Expos never had the first pick, but the Nationals, their successor, have had it three times. The Oakland Athletics have never had the first pick, but the Kansas City Athletics, their predecessor, had the first pick in MLB draft history. The Pittsburgh Pirates have had the first overall pick a record six times, while the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Houston Astros have each had the first overall pick five times.

First overall picks

Year	Player	Team	Position	Club/School	*	*	°		*	*	*	*	°	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	**	*	*	*	**	***	**	**	°	***	**	**	***	***	**	**	Jackson Holliday	**	**	TBD
1965	Kansas City Athletics	Outfielder	Arizona State University
1966	New York Mets	Catcher	Antelope Valley High School
(Lancaster, California)
1967	New York Yankees	First baseman	Druid Hills High School
(Druid Hills, Georgia)
1968	New York Mets	Shortstop	Notre Dame High School
(Sherman Oaks, California)
1969	Washington Senators	Outfielder	Woodrow Wilson Classical High School
(Long Beach, California)
1970	San Diego Padres	Catcher	Walker High School
(Atlanta, Georgia)
1971	Chicago White Sox	Catcher	Peoria High School
(Peoria, Illinois)
1972	San Diego Padres	Third baseman	University of Oregon
1973	Texas Rangers	Left-handed pitcher	Westchester High School
(Houston, Texas)
1974	San Diego Padres	Shortstop	Brown University
1975	California Angels	Catcher	Southern University
1976	Houston Astros	Left-handed pitcher	Arizona State University
1977	Chicago White Sox	Outfielder	St. Michaels Middle/High School
(St. Michaels, Maryland)
1978	Atlanta Braves	Third baseman	Arizona State University
1979	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	John Harris High School
(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
1980	New York Mets	Outfielder	Crenshaw High School
(Los Angeles, California)
1981	Seattle Mariners	Right-handed pitcher	Oral Roberts University
1982	Chicago Cubs	Shortstop	Thomas Jefferson High School
(Brooklyn, New York)
1983	Minnesota Twins	Right-handed pitcher	Mount Vernon Nazarene University
1984	New York Mets	Outfielder	Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School
(Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania)
1985	Milwaukee Brewers	Catcher	University of North Carolina
1986	Pittsburgh Pirates	Third baseman	University of Arkansas
1987	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	Moeller High School
(Cincinnati, Ohio)
1988	San Diego Padres	Right-handed pitcher	University of Evansville
1989	Baltimore Orioles	Right-handed pitcher	Louisiana State University
1990	Atlanta Braves	Shortstop	Bolles High School
(Jacksonville, Florida)
1991	New York Yankees	Left-handed pitcher	East Carteret High School
(Beaufort, North Carolina)
1992	Houston Astros	Third baseman	California State University, Fullerton
1993	Seattle Mariners	Shortstop	Westminster Christian High School
(Palmetto Bay, Florida)
1994	New York Mets	Right-handed pitcher	Florida State University
1995	California Angels	Outfielder	University of Nebraska–Lincoln
1996	Pittsburgh Pirates	Right-handed pitcher	Clemson University
1997	Detroit Tigers	Right-handed pitcher	Rice University
1998	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	University of Miami
1999	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Outfielder	Athens Drive High School
(Raleigh, North Carolina)
2000	Florida Marlins	First baseman	Eastlake High School
(Chula Vista, California)
2001	Minnesota Twins	Catcher	Cretin-Derham Hall High School
(St. Paul, Minnesota)
2002	Pittsburgh Pirates	Right-handed pitcher	Ball State University
2003	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Outfielder	Adolfo Camarillo High School
(Camarillo, California)
2004	San Diego Padres	Shortstop	Mission Bay Senior High School
(San Diego, California)
2005	Arizona Diamondbacks	Shortstop	Great Bridge High School
(Chesapeake, Virginia)
2006	Kansas City Royals	Right-handed pitcher	Fort Worth Cats
2007	Tampa Bay Rays	Left-handed pitcher	Vanderbilt University
2008	Tampa Bay Rays	Shortstop	Griffin High School
(Griffin, Georgia)
2009	Washington Nationals	Right-handed pitcher	San Diego State University
2010	Washington Nationals	Outfielder/Catcher	College of Southern Nevada
2011	Pittsburgh Pirates	Right-handed pitcher	University of California, Los Angeles
2012	Houston Astros	Shortstop	Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School
2013	Houston Astros	Right-handed pitcher	Stanford University
2014	Houston Astros	Left-handed pitcher	Cathedral Catholic High School
(San Diego, California)
2015	Arizona Diamondbacks	Shortstop	Vanderbilt University
2016	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	La Costa Canyon High School
(Carlsbad, California)
2017	Minnesota Twins	Shortstop	JSerra Catholic High School
(San Juan Capistrano, California)
2018	Detroit Tigers	Right-handed pitcher	Auburn University
2019	Baltimore Orioles	Catcher	Oregon State University
2020	Detroit Tigers	Third baseman	Arizona State University
2021	Pittsburgh Pirates	Catcher	University of Louisville
2022	Baltimore Orioles	Shortstop	Stillwater High School
(Stillwater, Oklahoma)
2023	Pittsburgh Pirates	Right-handed pitcher	Louisiana State University
2024	Cleveland Guardians	Second baseman	Oregon State University
2025	Washington Nationals	Shortstop	Fort Cobb-Broxton High School
(Fort Cobb, Oklahoma)
2026	Chicago White Sox