Starting at 6:00 p.m. (EDT), the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft, or Rule 4 Draft, will take place with the first round being shown live on MLB Network, and then subsequent rounds being covered on MLB.com. This year, the Draft will be the course of three days, as opposed to two in years prior.DRAFT DETAILS: 30 clubs select players in reverse order of won-lost records from the previous season (see image below for details). The Washington Nationals will have the first selection of the 2009 Draft. Compensation picks have been assigned to Clubs whose Type A or Type B free agents signed with other Clubs and/or to Clubs who did not sign a player who was chosen in the first three rounds of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Five clubs will have a pair of first round choices: the Nationals (first and 10th); the Seattle Mariners (second and 27th); the Colorado Rockies (11th and 32nd); the Arizona Diamondbacks (16th and 17th); and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (24th and 25th). Click to view the 2009 MLB Draft Selection Order (PDF) Select the image above to see theall 30 representatives for the 2009First-Year Player Draft (PDF)For television purposes, special representatives will be present during the selection process, including Hall of Famers Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski, Billy Williams and Tommy Lasorda. All 30 Major League Clubs will feature a representative at the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. In addition to Kaline (DET), Mazeroski (PIT), Billy Williams (CHI) and Lasorda (LAD), other representatives scheduled to attend include former All-Stars Craig Biggio (HOU), Jay Buhner (SEA), Ellis Burks (CLE), Eric Davis (CIN), Shawon Dunston (SF), John Franco (NYM), Ralph Garr (ATL), Tommy Harper (BOS), Pat Hentgen (TOR), Willie Horton (DET), Ron Kittle (CWS), Tino Martinez (NYY), Lee Mazzilli (NYY), Blue Moon Odom (OAK), Moose Skowron (CWS), Jim Sundberg (TEX), Bob Watson (MLB), Devon White (WSH), Woody Williams (SD) and Eric Young (COL).While this did not occur this year, If two or more clubs finished with identical records in the previous season, the earlier draft pick is awarded to the team that finished with the worst record two seasons ago. Additionally, the draft order may be altered if a club receives an additional draft pick (or picks) as compensation 1) for losing a free agent to another club or 2) for failing to sign a player selected in the previous year’s draft.The Draft will have 50 rounds and will conclude after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection of the 50th round, whichever comes first. Each club may select only one player for each of its major league, AAA and AA rosters but is not limited to the number of picks for the A level. (Choices no longer alternate between leagues, as they did before MLB ended the practice after the 2004 draft.) Clubs are not permitted to trade a draft pick (see The Biz of Baseball poll to weigh in on this topic).EligibilityThe following are eligible to be selected in the First Year Player Draft (MLR 4):Residents of the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and any other U.S. territories who have not previously signed minor- or major-league contracts.Non-residents attending high school or college in the United States.Previous draftees who did not sign contracts, chose to enroll in four-year colleges and subsequently completed their junior year in college or turned 21 years old.All other foreign-born players are ineligible. (See International Players.)SigningClubs must offer each draft pick a minor-league contract within 15 days after he is selected.A club holds exclusive negotiating rights with a drafted player until August 15, except for college seniors, who may sign at any time.Once a player drafted has signed with the club, he cannot be traded until an entire year has elapsed (Incaviglia Rule).Failure to SignA drafted player who does not sign and attends a four-year college is not eligible for the draft again until he completes his junior year of college or turns 21 years old.A drafted player who does not sign and does not attend class at a four-year college is eligible for the next First Year Player Draft. However, a club may not draft a player in two consecutive drafts without the player’s written consent.If a team does not sign its pick in the first two rounds (including the supplemental round between the two), it receives a compensatory selection in the following year's Rule 4 Draft that is one pick after the slot of the player who did not sign.If a team does not sign its third-round selection, it receives a compensatory selection in a new supplemental round between the third and fourth rounds in the following year's draft.TRACKING THE DRAFT VIA MLB.COM AND TWITTERFor those that wish to follow the proceedings online you can check out MLB.com’s Draft Caster, a feature that allows fans to watch Draft coverage live, including direct access to a searchable database of all eligible players, their biographical data, statistics, scouting reports and video. Also, many will be Tweeting the event via social networking platform Twitter. Any posting utilizing the hashtag “#mlbdraft” will be displayed within the MLB.com Draft Caster live during the three-day event. Registered members of Twitter can also enter commentary to join the Draft conversation directly from the application. Following the live broadcast of the first round, MLB.com will be the exclusive destination for every pick through the final round on June 11, streaming each of the nearly 1,500 selections live. Here are highlights of MLB.com’s content offerings:Up-to-the-minute reporting leading to the Draft’s first pickOn-demand Draft recap video programs for all 30 ClubsLive video look-ins to Draft ‘war rooms’ of select Major League clubsLive audio-only simulcast of entire DraftInterviews with Hall of Famers, Club dignitaries and 2009 drafteesMore than 150 original stories, including behind-the-scenes perspectives from all 30 ClubsEnhanced video scouting reports for 100 of the top Draft-eligible prospectsScouting video for over 700 Draft-eligible playersComplete history of the Draft, including full Draft listings dating back to 1965Photo galleries capturing the eventMOCK DRAFT Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Some might say that mock drafts are an effort in futility, especially with Scott Boras taking aim at destroying MLB’s slotting system. Boras is reported to be advising what are widely viewed to be the top 5 overall prospects, along with two of the top college arms.Still, mock drafts are a good way to get a feel for where players might be slotted.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein recently ranked the Top 50 prospects according to various scouts, talent evaluators, and front office personnel, and the following lists break them down by category (see link to Baseball Prospectus for details on each player). Boras Clients 1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State 2. Dustin Ackley, OF, North Carolina 3. Donavan Tate, OF, Cartersville HS (GA) 4. Jacob Turner, RHP, Westminster Academy (MO) 5. Grant Green, SS, Southern California 6. James Paxton, LHP, Kentucky 7. Andy Oliver, LHP, Oklahoma State Independent Ball 1. Tanner Scheppers, RHP, St. Paul Saints (drafted by the Pirates in 2008) 2. Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats (drafted by Nationals in 2008) College Pitchers 1. Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State 2. Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri 3. Alex White, RHP, North Carolina 4. Rex Brothers, LHP, Lipscomb 5. Eric Arnett, RHP, Indiana 6. Chad Jenkins, RHP, Kennesaw St 7. Mike Minor, LHP, Vanderbilt 8. Kyle Heckathorn, RHP, Kennesaw St 9. Sam Dyson, RHP, South Carolina 10. Drew Storen, RHP, Stanford College Batters 1. Jared Mitchell, OF, Louisiana State 2. Tony Sanchez, C, BostonCollege 3. Tim Wheeler, OF, Sacramento State 4. A.J. Pollock, OF, Notre Dame 5. Brett Jackson, OF, California 6. Rich Poythress, 1B, Georgia 7. Jason Kipnis, OF, Arizona State 8. Chris Domingez, 3B, Louisville High School Pitchers 1. Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capistrano Valley HS (CA) 2. Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS (TX) 3. Zach Wheeler, RHP, E. Paulding HS (GA) 4. Shelby Miller, RHP, Brownwood HS (TX) 5. Chad James, LHP, Yukon HS (OK) 6. Mat Hobgood, RHP, Norco HS (CA) 7. Garrett Gould, RHP, Maize HS (KS) 8. Tyler Skaggs, LHP, Santa Monica HS (CA) 9. Brody Colvin, RHP, St. Thomas More HS (LA) High School Batters 1. Bobby Borchering, 3B, Bishop Verot HS (FL) 2. Mike Trout, OF, Millville HS (NJ) 3. Everett Williams, OF, McCallum HS 4. Max Stassi, C, Yuba City HS (CA) 5. David Renfroe, SS/RHP, South Panola HS (MS) 6. Jiovanni Miller, SS, Bonita HS (CA) 7. Wil Myers, C, Wesleyan Christian HS (NC) 8. Slade Heathcott, OF, Texas HS (TX) 9. Billy Hamilton, SS, Taylorsville HS (MS) 10. Matt Davidson, 3B, Yucaipa HS (CA) 11. Levon Washington, OF, Buchholz HS (FL) 12. Brian Goodwin, OF,Rocky Mount HS (NC) 13. Mychal Givens,SS,Plant HS (FL) 14. Jeff Malm,1B,Bishop Gorman HS (NV)OTHER DRAFT INFORMATIONEvery Pick, Details: 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft Evan Nuckles and Jeff Euston contributed to this articleMaury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. 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