The 1987 Major League Baseball draft is the process by which Major League Baseball (MLB) teams select athletes to play for their organization. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional contract were considered eligible for the draft. The 1987 MLB Draft took place as a conference call to the Commissioner of Baseball's office in New York from June 2–4. As opposed to the National Football League draft which appeared on ESPN, no network aired the MLB Draft.
The American League (AL) and the National League (NL) alternated picks throughout the first round; because an NL team drafted first in the 1986 MLB draft, an AL team had the first selection in 1987. Having finished 67–95 in 1986, the Seattle Mariners had the worst record in the AL and thus obtained the first overall selection. The second selection went to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had the worst record in the NL.
With the first overall pick, the Mariners drafted Ken Griffey Jr. from Moeller High School. Griffey Jr. became a 13-time All-Star and helped Seattle make its first postseason appearance in franchise history. Mark Merchant, the second overall pick, however, never played in a major league game. Two years after he was drafted, the Pirates traded Merchant to Seattle, where he got to meet Ken Griffey Jr. Chicago White Sox' first overall selection Jack McDowell won the 1993 Cy Young Award as Chicago made a League Championship Series appearance that year. The total number of athletes drafted, 1,263, broke a record for the most players ever chosen in a draft. In total, 27 All-Stars were selected in 1987, although not all signed a professional contract. , only three players from the draft has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame– Craig Biggio, Griffey Jr, and Mike Mussina, though Mussina did not sign in this draft.
Background As with prior drafts, the team with the worst overall record from the previous season was selected first, with teams from the AL and NL alternating picks. If two or more teams had the same record, the team with the worse record from two seasons prior would draft higher. Because the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL were selected first overall in 1986 Major League Baseball draft, an AL team had the first pick in the 1987 draft. The final two selections in the first round both came from American League teams, as the AL had two more organizations than the NL.
The date of the draft was set for June 2–4, and would occur as a conference call to the Commissioner of Baseball's office in New York. Unlike the 1987 NFL draft, which aired on ESPN, no network televised the MLB draft. High school seniors, college juniors and seniors, and anyone who had never played under a professional contract were considered eligible to be drafted. For the first time, junior college players would also be included in the June draft; in years past, teams would select junior college players in a separate draft.
Selections could be transferred or added if a team signed a certain type of free agent: the Elias Sports Bureau ranked players as either type-A (top 30 percent of all players), type-B (31 percent to 50 percent), or type-C (51 percent to 60 percent), based on the athlete's performance over the past two seasons. If a "type-A" player became a free agent, the team that lost the type-A player would receive the first-round draft pick from the team that signed the player, as well as a "sandwich pick" between the first and second rounds. If a "type-B" became a free agent, the team that lost him would receive a second-round pick from the team that signed the player. If a "type-C" became a free agent, the team that lost him would receive a compensation pick between the second and third rounds. The top 13 selections were considered "protected picks" and exempt from this rule.
With a record of 67–95, the Seattle Mariners ended the 1986 Major League Baseball season with the worst record in the AL and thus obtained the first overall selection. The Mariners never had a winning record in the twelve years since the franchise's creation (their best winning percentage was .469, accomplished in 1982), and during the 1986 season, changed managers three times. In the NL, the Pirates finished with the league's worst record for the second year in a row and were given the second overall pick. The 1986 World Series champion New York Mets drafted third-to-last, with the runner-up Boston Red Sox selecting last.
First two rounds + Table key* Did not sign with team§ All-Star†§ Hall-of-Fame inductee and All-Star
+ DraftRoundPickPlayerSelected byPositionSchool1†§Seattle MarinersOutfielder Moeller High School (OH)2Pittsburgh PiratesOutfielderOviedo High School (FL)3Minnesota TwinsSt. Anthony High School (NJ)4Chicago CubsCal State Fullerton5§Chicago White SoxStanford6Atlanta BravesGeorgia7Baltimore OriolesPlant High School (FL)8 Los Angeles DodgersValley High School (NV)9§Kansas City RoyalsAntelope Valley College10San Diego PadresTexas11Oakland AthleticsOutfielderShelby County High School (KY)12Montreal ExposShortstopSeaford Senior High School13Milwaukee BrewersShortstopClemson14St. Louis CardinalsGeorgia15*Baltimore OriolesVirginia Tech16§San Francisco GiantsDartmouth17Toronto Blue JaysUCLA18§Cincinnati RedsOklahoma19Texas RangersNorth Shore High School (TX)20Detroit TigersCatcherWestminster Christian School (FL)21Detroit TigersOutfielderPontotoc High School22†§Houston AstrosCatcherSeton Hall23Texas RangersCatcherUniversity of California, Los Angeles24New York MetsThird basemanLoyola Marymount25California AngelsCatcherCal Poly26Boston Red SoxWaynesboro High School (supplemental)27§ Baltimore OriolesFordham (supplemental)28 Montreal ExposOutfielderImperial Valley College (supplemental)29 Texas RangersTexas (supplemental)30§ Detroit TigersShortstopJ. M. Tate High School (supplemental)31California AngelsOcean View High School (supplemental)32 Boston Red SoxOutfielderOral Roberts33Seattle MarinersOhio State34Pittsburgh PiratesOak Park and River Forest High School35Minnesota TwinsOutfielderWisconsin-Oshkosh36Montreal ExposPflugerville High School37Chicago White SoxOcean View High School38Atlanta BravesCatcherCanoga Park High School39§ New York MetsCatcherWilliam Fremd High School40Los Angeles DodgersOutfielderGranite Hills High School (CA)41Kansas City RoyalsSecond basemanKentucky42San Diego PadresBradley43California AngelsSan Diego State44Montreal ExposFlorida State45Milwaukee BrewersRed Bank High School46St. Louis CardinalsCSU Northridge47§Cleveland IndiansOutfielderLSU48San Francisco GiantsPortland State49Toronto Blue JaysOutfielderC. Leon King High School50Cincinnati RedsShortstopTCU51Texas RangersLSU52Philadelphia PhilliesPlano High School (TX)53Detroit TigersOutfielderNevada54Houston AstrosUCLA55Milwaukee BrewersTexas56New York MetsGeorge C. Marshall High School57California AngelsShortstopBonita High School58Boston Red SoxHawaii
Other players to reach MLB The following players were drafted outside of the first two rounds and played in at least one major league game: