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1996 Major League Baseball draft

1996 Major League Baseball draft
General information
Date(s)June 4–5, 1996
Overview
First selectionKris Benson
Pittsburgh Pirates
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The 1996 Major League Baseball draft was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players that was held on June 4 and 5, 1996. A total of 1740 players were drafted over the course of 100 rounds.

This is the only draft to last 100 rounds.[citation needed] The last player taken was outfielder Aron Amundson, drafted by the New York Yankees in the 100th round.[1]

This draft is also notable because a record four first-round draft picks were not offered contracts by the teams that drafted them and subsequently became free agents. Under Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the teams had been required to offer a written contract within fifteen days of the draft, but that rule had been ignored for decades prior to this draft. Agent Scott Boras challenged the White Sox on their lack of an offered contract for Bobby Seay and filed grievances on behalf of John Patterson and Matt White. Travis Lee's advisers followed suit.[2][3]

First round selections

= All-Star
Pick Player Team Position School
1 Kris Benson Pittsburgh Pirates P Clemson
2 Travis Lee Minnesota Twins 1B San Diego State
3 Braden Looper St. Louis Cardinals P Wichita State
4 Billy Koch Toronto Blue Jays P Clemson
5 John Patterson Montreal Expos P West Orange Stark HS (TX)
6 Seth Greisinger Detroit Tigers P Virginia
7 Matt White San Francisco Giants P Waynesboro Area HS (PA)
8 Chad Green Milwaukee Brewers OF Kentucky
9 Mark Kotsay Florida Marlins OF Cal State Fullerton
10 Eric Chavez Oakland Athletics 3B Mount Carmel HS (CA)
11 Adam Eaton Philadelphia Phillies P Snohomish HS (WA)
12 Bobby Seay Chicago White Sox P Sarasota HS (FL)
13 Rob Stratton New York Mets OF San Marcos HS (CA)
14 Dermal Brown Kansas City Royals OF Marlboro Central HS (NY)
15 Matt Halloran San Diego Padres SS Chancellor HS (VA)
16 Joe Lawrence Toronto Blue Jays[Compensation 1] SS Barbe HS (LA)
17 Todd Noel Chicago Cubs P North Vermillion HS (LA)
18 R. A. Dickey Texas Rangers P Tennessee
19 Mark Johnson Houston Astros P Hawaii
20 Eric Milton New York Yankees[Compensation 2] P Maryland
21 Jake Westbrook Colorado Rockies P Madison County HS (GA)
22 Gil Meche Seattle Mariners P Acadiana HS (LA)
23 Damian Rolls Los Angeles Dodgers 3B Schlagle HS (KS)
24 Sam Marsonek Texas Rangers[Compensation 3] P Jesuit HS (FL)
25 John Oliver Cincinnati Reds OF Lake-Lehman HS (PA)
26 Josh Garrett Boston Red Sox P South Spencer HS (IN)
27 A.J. Zapp Atlanta Braves 1B Center Grove HS (IN)
28 Danny Peoples Cleveland Indians 1B Texas
29 Paul Wilder Tampa Bay Devil Rays OF Cary HS (NC)
30 Nick Bierbrodt Arizona Diamondbacks P Millikan HS (CA)

Supplemental first round selections

Pick Player Team Position School
31 Pete Tucci Toronto Blue Jays[Compensation 4] 1B, OF Providence College
32 Corey Lee Texas Rangers[Compensation 5] P North Carolina State University
33 Matt McClendon Cincinnati Reds[Compensation 6] P Dr. Phillips HS (Orlando, FL)
34 Chris Reitsma Boston Red Sox[Compensation 7] P Calgary Christian HS (Calgary, AB)
35 Jason Marquis Atlanta Braves[Compensation 8] P Tottenville HS (Staten Island, NY)

Compensation picks

  1. ^ Pick from Baltimore Orioles as compensation for signing of free agent Roberto Alomar
  2. ^ Pick from California Angels as compensation for signing of free agent Randy Velarde
  3. ^ Pick from New York Yankees as compensation for signing of free agent Kenny Rogers
  4. ^ Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Roberto Alomar
  5. ^ Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Kenny Rogers
  6. ^ Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Ron Gant
  7. ^ Supplemental pick for loss of free agent Erik Hanson
  8. ^ Supplemental pick for failure to sign first round pick Chad Hutchinson

Other notable players

NFL player drafted

See also

Preceded by 1st Overall Picks
Kris Benson
Succeeded by
  1. ^ "1996 Baseball Draft". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Buchanan, Zach (April 16, 2020). "Travis Lee's 1996 draft saga and how an amateur's true value was briefly exposed". The Athletic. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Lingo, Will (July 25, 2014). "Top 10 MLB Draft Holdouts Of All-Time". Baseball America. Retrieved September 1, 2024.