Originally posted on Baseball Essential | Last updated 3/15/21 The annual Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft will be held July 11-13, 2021, in Atlanta. It will be held in conjunction with this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The draft order is based on team records from last year, going from worst to World Series champions. Teams that lose qualifying free agents and teams from which players did not sign from last year’s draft will receive compensation picks. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league and the players association agreed that the draft would be 20 rounds, up from five rounds in 2020. The Pittsburgh Pirates will have the top overall selection.