First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.
Contents
* Did not sign
Background
The regular and secondary phases of the January draft proved more fruitful to major league clubs than the June draft. Those selected in the regular phase in January included Chris Chambliss (Cleveland, 1st round), Greg Minton (Kansas City, 3rd round) and Joel Youngblood (Cincinnati, 2nd round). In the secondary phase, Doug DeCinces was selected by Baltimore in the 3rd round, Rick Burleson by Boston in the 1st round, Bill Madlock by Washington in the 5th round and Chris Speier by San Francisco in the 1st round.
Catching prospects were a popular selection in June. Of the first four picks in the regular phase, three were catchers. San Diego took Mike Ivie as the draft's number one selection, Montreal tabbed Barry Foote with the 3rd pick and Milwaukee chose Darrell Porter with the draft's 4th selection. The Chicago White Sox may have had the most productive June draft selecting pitchers Terry Forster (2nd round) and Rich Gossage (9th round) in the regular phase and infielder Bucky Dent (1st round) in the secondary phase.