The 2024 NCAA college baseball regular season is done, and that means many draft-eligible players will now have their sights set on a new goal: making it to the pros. But before then, those individuals need to find where exactly they will wind up. The 2024 MLB Draft is scheduled for this summer but what date will the annual event begin? Here’s what baseball fans should know about this year’s upcoming draft.

Start date for 2024 MLB Draft

The 2024 MLB Draft will begin on July 14, 2024. Traditionally, the first day of the MLB Draft includes the first and second rounds and the competitive balance rounds A & B.

The remainder of the MLB Draft will be held on July 15 and 16.

The MLB Draft has been held during All-Star Weekend for the past three years and will remain the case in 2024. Major League Baseball will host the first day of the draft in Fort Worth, Texas, near where the 2024 All-Star Game will be held in Arlington.

How the Draft works

The MLB Draft is a 20-round amateur draft, in which Major League teams can select eligible college baseball players, high school seniors, and community/junior college athletes.

Before 2020, the MLB Draft was a 40-round event. Due to COVID-19, a five-round draft was instituted in 2020 and the current format was installed a year later.

Teams will have a limited window to sign those players into their organization after selection.

Traditionally, the draft order has been determined based on the reverse order of the Major League Baseball standings from the previous year. But thanks to the recent addition of the MLB Draft Lottery, the top of the draft is determined, much like in the NBA and NHL, via lottery.

The Cleveland Guardians won the right to select first overall in 2024, while the Reds and Rockies will pick second and third, respectively. The Athletics, who had the worst record in Major League Baseball in 2023, will pick fourth.