Draft position for the MLB First Player Draft (the Rule 4 draft ) is determined by the Reverse Standings, or the reverse order of finish in the 2015 season. In addition to their normal draft slots, teams are awarded compensation picks (if they failed to sign a draft pick in their previous draft) and competitive balance picks (awarded in a lottery to the teams in the smallest markets and/or with the smallest revenue pool).
The race for the top pick in the draft is not something in which a team wants to find itself, as this usually signifies them having a terrible season. However, if a team is going to have a bad season, then having a top five or top three draft pick greatly increases their chances of selecting an impact player, as our own Micah Smith recently wrote. Ben Lindbergh with Grantland (a great baseball writer to follow at a great site) wrote last week on the differences on the contributions of players selected at different positions in the draft.
Picking once in a generation players like Chipper Jones is certainly not the norm in the MLB draft. Players typically take several years to work their way through the minors and become contributors at the big league level. But recent top draft picks like Bryce Harper (2010), Gerrit Cole (2011), Carlos Correa (2012), and David Price (2007) are helping their teams become competitive again, and, in the case of Harper and Price, becoming once in a generation type players themselves.
Below is the projected draft order for the 2016 MLB Draft. Competitive balance picks and compensatory picks are not included.
Reverse Standings will be updated overnight after all daily games have been completed.
[sc:ReverseStandings ]
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