The Major League Baseball Draft is a whopping 50. . .yes, that's fifty. . .rounds long. This is another thing that makes it significantly different from the NFL and NBA Draft. This is why the MLB Draft is spread out over the course of a week rather than being completed in a night or two like the drafts in the other sports.
In another twist that is unlike the other sports, draft choices in the Major League Baseball draft can not be traded. Teams can not trade selections in this year's draft, nor can they trade future draft selections. Therefore, it is pretty easy to keep track of where a particular team is going to select. . .for the most part.
While the draft order is based, primarily, on the record of the teams from the prior season, there is another thing that Major League Baseball does that can alter things slightly. Teams can be given compensatory picks based on free agents that they lost the previous off-season. In the case of the Minnesota Twins, they have the 30th overall selection in the first round based on their 2010 performance. In the "compensatory round," which is comprised entirely of these types of compensatory picks that I just mentioned, they have two picks based upon free agents they lost in 2011. . .they were given the 50th overall selection for losing infielder Orlando Hudson to the San Diego Padres, and the 55th overall selection for losing pitcher Jesse Crain to the Chicago White Sox.
When we move on to the second round (which is actually the third round, but who's counting), the Twins have the 87th overall pick, and their third round selection (which is actually the fourth round), they will pick 117th overall. The Twins will then pick 27th in each round from the fourth all the way through to the fiftieth round. The only teams selecting after the Twins in each round are the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
For a full 2011 MLB Draft order, be sure to check out this handy chart at MLB.com.