MLB Draft
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50 free MLB Draft trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The baseball draft is unlike any other in American sports. It runs for hundreds of picks, the players chosen usually spend years in the minor leagues before anyone sees them on a big-league field, and some of the game's greatest careers began with a name called long after most fans had stopped listening. This game tests how well you know that history. The questions cover the players taken first and the future greats who slipped, quarterbacks and other athletes who were drafted for a sport they never played professionally, famous holdouts and busts, and the fine print that decides who is eligible, who picks when and what a club can spend. It is written for baseball fans, prospect watchers and anyone running a sports trivia night. The questions run from friendly openers to tests for the fan who follows draft day pick by pick, and every answer comes with a short explanation, so you can play straight through or print the set for a group.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which outfielder did the Athletics make the very first selection in MLB draft history in June 1965?
Rick Monday
Rick Monday became better known for a 1976 play at Dodger Stadium, when he snatched an American flag away from two protesters who were trying to set it on fire.
Q 02Which Hall of Fame catcher was drafted in the 62nd round in 1988 as a favor to his father?
Mike Piazza
Mike Piazza was the 1,390th of 1,395 players picked that year, chosen because Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was a childhood friend of his father.
Q 03Which MLB team drafted future NFL quarterback Tom Brady as a catcher in the 18th round in 1995?
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos had brought him in for a workout alongside their own players, and he ended up as the last active athlete the franchise ever drafted.
Q 04Which MLB team drafted quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the 37th round in 2014, though he never signed?
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers took a late flier on the Texas high school pitcher, whose father, Pat Mahomes, pitched in the major leagues; he did not sign and went to Texas Tech instead.
Q 05Which future MVP from New Jersey lasted until the 25th pick of the 2009 MLB draft?
Mike Trout
Mike Trout, later a three-time MVP, was taken with a compensation pick the Angels had received from the Yankees for losing free agent Mark Teixeira.
Q 06Which Dominican-born slugger lasted until the 13th round of the 1999 MLB draft, the 402nd player chosen?
Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols at first turned down a $10,000 bonus, signing only when the offer rose to $60,000, and he went on to hit 703 home runs.
Q 07Which first overall pick became, in 2016, the first top MLB draft selection ever inducted into the Hall of Fame?
Ken Griffey Jr.
Ken Griffey Jr. was named on a then-record 99.3 percent of ballots, breaking a mark that had stood for 24 years.
Q 08Which future Hall of Fame slugger went second in the 1966 MLB draft after the Mets chose catcher Steve Chilcott?
Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson hit 563 career home runs, while Chilcott never played above Triple-A and retired without appearing in a single major league game.
Q 09Which slugger, featured on a Sports Illustrated cover as a high schooler, went first overall in the 2010 MLB draft?
Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper left high school after his sophomore year and earned a GED, which made him eligible for the draft a year early.
Q 10Which future strikeout king lasted until the 12th round of the very first MLB draft in 1965?
Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan was only the 295th player chosen, yet he went on to throw a record seven no-hitters, three more than any other pitcher.
Q 11Which team made Miami high school shortstop Alex Rodriguez the first overall pick of the 1993 MLB draft?
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners signed him away from a University of Miami scholarship, and he reached the major leagues the following year at just 18.
Q 12Which shortstop from Kalamazoo went sixth overall in the 1992 MLB draft after five teams passed?
Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter so impressed Astros scout Hal Newhouser that the Hall of Fame pitcher quit his job in protest when Houston, picking first, ignored his advice.
Q 13Which Stanford quarterback used his Yankees draft status to force a trade away from the Baltimore Colts in 1983?
John Elway
Q 21Which first overall pick of 2009 signed a record $15.1 million contract just 77 seconds before the signing deadline?
Stephen Strasburg
Stephen Strasburg repaid Washington a decade later, when he was named Most Valuable Player of the 2019 World Series.
Q 22Which Yankees first overall pick of 1991 never reached the majors after hurting his pitching shoulder in a fistfight?
Brien Taylor
Brien Taylor was defending his brother when he tore up the shoulder, and the surgery that followed cost him the whole 1994 season.
Q 23Which catcher is the only player chosen first overall in two MLB drafts, in 1971 and again in 1975?
Danny Goodwin
John Elway, a second-round Yankees pick in 1981, threatened to play baseball full-time unless the Colts dealt him, and they sent him to the Denver Broncos.
Q 14Which Oklahoma quarterback was a top-ten pick in the 2018 MLB draft and the first pick of the next NFL draft?
Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray became the first player drafted in the first round of both sports, having taken a $4.66 million signing bonus from the Athletics.
Q 15Which MLB team drafted future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson in the fourth round in 2010?
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies kept him in their farm system as a second baseman for two summers before he told the club in 2012 that he would pursue football.
Q 16Which Hall of Fame outfielder was drafted by teams in MLB, the NBA, the ABA and the NFL in 1973?
Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the 17th round even though he had never played a down of college football.
Q 17Which future batting champion was picked in both the MLB and NBA drafts on the same day in 1981?
Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn, later an eight-time batting champion, went to the Padres in the third round and the San Diego Clippers in the tenth; he said dribbling as a point guard had strengthened his wrists.
Q 18Starting with the 2023 MLB draft, what was introduced to decide which non-playoff team gets the first pick?
A lottery
A lottery among the 18 clubs that missed the postseason was brought in to set the first six picks, with the three worst teams sharing the best odds.
Q 19In 2021, the MLB draft left its June slot to become part of the festivities around which annual event?
The All-Star Game
The All-Star Game shared its host city, Denver, with the draft that summer, and the two events stayed paired in the years that followed.
Q 20What caused Major League Baseball to cut its 2020 draft from 40 rounds to just five?
The COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic also kept the event out of Omaha, where it was to be staged live for the first time beside the College World Series.
Danny Goodwin turned down a pro contract out of high school to attend Southern University, then signed when the Angels made him the top pick again four years later.
Q 24Which university produced first overall MLB draft picks Floyd Bannister and Spencer Torkelson?
Arizona State
Arizona State also produced the very first pick in draft history in 1965 and the top choice of 1978.
Q 25Which Vanderbilt shortstop, the first overall pick of 2015, was traded by the Diamondbacks just six months later?
Dansby Swanson
Dansby Swanson went to the Atlanta Braves in a package for pitcher Shelby Miller and was their starting shortstop by the following August.
Q 26Which agent, a former minor league player, is known for steering top MLB draft picks to record-setting contracts?
Scott Boras
Scott Boras spent four seasons in the minor leagues before knee problems ended his playing career, then earned a law degree and began representing players.
Q 27Which shortstop became the first top overall MLB draft pick from Puerto Rico when Houston selected him in 2012?
Carlos Correa
Carlos Correa was drafted straight from a high school on the island, where the previous best had been a 17th overall pick in 1994.
Q 28Which high school catcher went first overall in the 2001 MLB draft ahead of college ace Mark Prior?
Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer, a St. Paul native picked by his hometown Twins, was also the national high school quarterback of the year and had committed to play football at Florida State.
Q 29Which Braves legend went first overall in 1990 after pitcher Todd Van Poppel said he would not sign with Atlanta?
Chipper Jones
Chipper Jones was Atlanta's fallback choice, yet he reached the Hall of Fame in 2018, while Van Poppel slid to the 14th pick.
Q 30Which first overall pick of the 1999 MLB draft served season-long drug suspensions before being named the 2010 AL MVP?
Josh Hamilton
Josh Hamilton never played a major league game for Tampa Bay, the club that drafted him, and made his debut with Cincinnati in 2007.