How to watch Round 1 of the MLB Draft

The MLB Draft lasts three whole days and 40 rounds, but only part of the first day is televised, with the first round on MLB Network on Monday night (7 p.m. ET, MLB Network).

Monday will feature the first two rounds of the draft plus a few other picks after each round. There are eight compensatory picks for the free agents who signed elsewhere this winter after declining a qualifying offer, and the Tampa Bay Rays got a compensatory pick at No. 32 for failing to sign 2017 first-rounder Drew Rasmussen.

There are also Competitive Balance rounds, with eight teams getting picks after the first round and six more after the second, all for being among either the lowest-revenue teams or in the smallest markets, or both.

All in all, 78 picks will be taken on Monday, but only the first 43 picks will be televised. After that, the remainder of the draft will be broadcast exclusively online on MLB.com.

MLB Draft Monday online streaming

Rounds: 1-2 plus Competitive Balance Rounds A and B (picks 1 through 78)

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV: MLB Network (first 43 picks only)

Streaming: MLB.com

MLB Draft news and notes

Though not as big of a spectacle as the NFL Draft or the NBA Draft, mostly because the amateur players aren’t widely as known in baseball, as other sports, the television aspect adds some fanfare to the first round.

Every team will be represented at the MLB Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey on Monday by some sort of team representative, either a former player, manager or scout in most cases. There will be 21 former all-stars among that group, including Bo Jackson, Kirk Gibson, and Dale Murphy, plus Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers, Tommy Lasorda, and Andre Dawson.

There were six players invited to the draft as well, four of them high schoolers:

• Alec Bohm, Wichita State third baseman (ranked as the seventh-best prospect heading into the draft by Baseball America)
• Carter Stewart, Florida high school pitcher (BA rank: 9)
• Travis Swaggerty, South Alabama outfielder (BA rank: 11)
• Tristan Casas, Florida high school first baseman (BA rank: 25)
• Anthony Seigler, Georgia high school catcher (BA rank: 41)
• Xavier Edwards, Florida high school shortstop (BA rank: 43)