1985 Amateur Draft : First Round Picks

The first draft was held on June 8-9, 1965. The Major League franchises were able to choose from all high school seniors and college players.

Initially there were supposed to be three amateur drafts held each season. That original plan changed in 1964 and was reduced to two drafts with the first phase being held after High School graduations. The second phase was held in January of the following year and involved players who were drafted earlier, but were not signed by their franchise.

In 1986 the two-phase draft system was changed and instead of holding a second phase draft in January, franchises who could not sign their first round selections were awarded a supplemental first round pick the following amateur draft.

The first pick of the first round is awarded to the worst team in the American or National League. Each season the two leagues alternate the first pick and proceed through the first round in reverse order of finish from the previous season's standings.

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the 1985 first round draft selections, the team they were chosen by, their position(s), and their college or home town at the time of the amateur draft.

"He (Barry Bonds) doesn't have to march to the same drummer as long as he's in the same band." - San Francisco Giants Manager Dusty Baker (1993)
1985

First Round Draft Picks

# Selected By Name Position College or Hometown
1. Brewers B.J. Surhoff C University of North Carolina
2. Giants Will Clark 1B Mississippi State University
3. Rangers Bobby Witt RHP University of Oklahoma
4. Reds Barry Larkin SS University of Michigan
5. White Sox Kurt Brown C Glendora, CA
6. Pirates Barry Bonds OF Arizona State University
7. Mariners Mike Campbell RHP University of Hawaii
8. Expos Pete Incaviglia OF Oklahoma State University
9. Indians Mike Poehl RHP University of Texas
10. Dodgers Chris Gwynn OF San Diego State University
11. Athletics Walt Weiss SS University of North Carolina
12. Astros Cameron Drew OF University of New Haven
13. Twins Jeff Bumgarner RHP Richland, WA
14. Braves Tommy Greene RHP Whiteville, NC
15. Angels Willie Fraser RHP Concordia College
16. Phillies Trey McCall C Abingdon, VA
17. Royals Brian McRae SS Blue Springs, FL
18. Cardinals Joe Magrane LHP University of Arizona
19. Angels Mike Cook RHP University of South Carolina
20. Mets Gregg Jefferies SS Millbrae, CA
21. Red Sox Dan Gabriele RHP Walled Lake, MI
22. Cubs Rafael Palmeiro OF Mississippi State University
23. Padres Joey Cora SS Vanderbilt University
24. Cubs Dave Masters RHP University of California
25. Blue Jays Greg David OF Naples, FL
26. Tigers Randy Nosek RHP Chillicothe, MO

1985 First Round Draft Picks



The players who DO NOT have links to their Major League statistics DID NOT make it to the Major League level.

Did you know that six of the first eight draft picks in the 1985 Amateur Draft had at least one full year of Major League experience before the start of the 1987 season?

The Milwaukee Brewers selected B.J. Surhoff first overall and successfully signed him for $150,000.