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Major League Baseball and the MLB Network have announced that the 2019 MLB Draft will start on Monday, June 3 in MLB Network’s Studio 42, starting at 6 p.m. Central time. The first 78 picks will be made on the first day and the first round and compensation round picks will all be televised live on MLB Network. All 78 picks on the first day will also be broadcast on streaming video available at mlb.com.
Rounds 3 through 10 will take place the next day: Tuesday, June 4, starting at noon Central time. The draft will conclude on Wednesday, June 5 with the final rounds 11 through 40, starting at 11 a.m. Central time. Both day 2 and day 3 of the draft will be handled through a conference call that can be listened to on mlb.com again.
The coverage on the first day will be anchored by MLB Network personalities Greg Amsinger, Kelly Nash, Dan O’Dowd, Harold Reynolds and Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline. Other regular MLB network analysts will be brought in for commentary as well. There will also be a draft preview show on the MLB Network and on mlb.com that will start one hour prior to the draft on Monday.
The Cubs have the 27th pick in round one and the 64th overall pick in round two on the first day. Unlike past years, the Cubs have neither added nor lost a draft pick this year, so they’ll have exactly 40 picks this time.
The Diamondbacks have seven of the first 78 picks. The Pirates and Rays each have four picks on the first day.
MLB has mostly cleared the schedule for Monday, June 3, so there shouldn’t be any games going on opposite the draft. The Cubs take on the Angels that afternoon in a makeup game at 3:05 p.m. Central at Wrigley Field. The Mariners, Diamondbacks and Padres play games on the West Coast that won’t start until the draft is winding down in the East.
As in past years, all 30 MLB teams will have special representatives present at the draft to make the actual picks. Who those reps are will be announced at a later date. Andre Dawson represented the Cubs at the draft last season.
As always, Bleed Cubbie Blue will have a preview of the draft, as well as open threads to discuss the newest members of the Cubs family.