MLB announces 2012 Draft order

Major League Baseball will hold day one of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft on Monday, June 4, at MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J. The Draft will begin live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 7 p.m. (ET). Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network will air a Draft preview show, also simulcast on MLB.com, at 6 p.m. (ET).

The selection order of the First-Year Player Draft is determined by the reverse order of finish at the close of the previous championship season. For the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, compensation picks have been assigned to clubs whose Type A or Type B free agents signed with other clubs and/or to clubs that did not sign a player who was chosen in the first three rounds of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

The Houston Astros will have the first overall selection of the 2012 Draft, marking the third time in club history it has the top choice (previous: 1976, 1992). Four clubs have two first-round picks: the Toronto Blue Jays (17th and 22nd), the St. Louis Cardinals (19th and 23rd), the Boston Red Sox (24th and 31st), and the Milwaukee Brewers (27th and 28th). The Cardinals have five of the first 59 selections and the Blue Jays hold five of the first 60 picks.

Per the new Basic Agreement, the Draft will have 40 rounds, instead of 50. A Club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds.

As in each of the previous three years, the 2012 Draft will span three days. For day one, on June 4, MLB Network and MLB.com will provide live pick-by-pick coverage during the first round and the first compensation round. The intervals between selections will last five minutes during the first round and one minute during the compensation round.

The Draft will resume at 12 p.m. (ET) on both Tuesday, June 5, and Wednesday, June 6, via conference call from MLB headquarters in New York City. Tuesday, June 5, will cover rounds two through 15, and Wednesday, June 6, will cover rounds 16 through 40. Rounds two through 10 will have one minute between selections, and the remainder of the selections will be made without delays.

Continuing coverage at the start of day two, MLB.com will deliver exclusive live programming of the Draft's final two days, including a live pick-by-pick stream, Draft and scouting expert commentary and DraftCaster, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of every Draft-eligible player, supplemented by statistics, scouting reports and video highlights.

Each of the 30 Major League clubs will be represented at the Draft by one of its former players and/or a member of its front office. Last year's representatives included Hall of Famers Roberto Alomar, Rod Carew, Tommy Lasorda, Gaylord Perry and Jim Rice, along with MLB executive vice president, Joe Torre, and San Diego Padres great Trevor Hoffman. The club representatives who will attend the 2012 Draft will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Please click here for a pdf file with the complete order of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.