MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL WEEKLY NOTES THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018 CLUB 2,500 On Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander tossed his fi rst complete-game shutout of the 2018 season with seven strikeouts and fi ve hits allowed. With his ninth inning punchout against rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani, the six-time All-Star became the 33rd pitcher in Major League history to reach the 2,500-strikeout plateau. CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees, who has logged 2,874 strikeouts entering play today, is the only other active pitcher to reach the milestone. Following his excellent outing yesterday, in which he fi red 7.2 innings of shutout ball with three punchouts, Texas Rangers hurler Bartolo Colon is the next-closest pitcher to the 2,500-strikeout club. The 21-year-veteran will go into his next start with 2,486 punchouts for his career. Verlander recorded his historic strikeout in his 395th career outing, becoming just the sixth pitcher in history to reach the milestone in fewer than 400 career games. The 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young Award-winner joined Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Tom Seaver and Pedro Martínez, as well as Roger Clemens. Below is a table depicting each pitchers' cumulative stats at the time of their 2,500th career strikeout, sorted by fewest games needed: Pitcher Years IP G W-L H BB SO Randy Johnson 1988-99 2,108.0 313 152-83 1,625 991 2,500 Nolan Ryan 1966-78 2,286.1 338 143-134 1,559 1,480 2,500 Pedro Martinez 1992-2004 2,152.2 367 173-71 1,623 594 2,500 Roger Clemens 1984-96 2,695.0 373 186-109 2,297 868 2,500 Tom Seaver 1967-77 2,927.2 381 200-116 2,313 850 2,500 Justin Verlander 2005-18 2,613.2 395 193-116 2,277 812 2,500 Entering play today, three Astros pitchers pace the American League in ERA. Verlander leads the Majors with a 1.05 ERA on the season, and is trailed in the AL by his team mates Gerrit Cole (1.75) and Charlie Morton (2.03). Led by their dynamic starting pitching staff , the Astros are the only Club in the Majors with a team ERA below 3.00, holding a 2.44 mark on the season. The Arizona Diamondbacks trail the leading Astros with a 3.31 team ERA. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a Club had the top three pitchers in its league in ERA through at least 45 team games into the season was the Boston Red Sox in 2002. Through 157 team games played, Martínez (2.26), Derek Lowe (2.45) and Tim Wakefi eld (2.75) ranked in the top three in the Junior Circuit. 2018 MLB DRAFT DETAILS ANNOUNCED Major League Baseball will hold day one of the 2018 MLB Draft on Monday, June 4th at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey. This year’s Draft will begin live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Prior to the start of the Draft, MLB Network will air a Draft preview show, also simulcast on MLB.com, at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The selection order of the Draft is determined by the reverse order of fi nish at the close of the previous championship season. For just the second time in team history, the Detroit Tigers will have the fi rst overall selection of the Draft. Previously, Detroit drafted right-handed pitcher Matt Anderson with the top overall selection in 1997. The Tampa Bay Rays (16th, 31st, 32nd, 56th, 71st) and the Kansas City Royals (18th, 33rd, 34th, 40th, 58th) each have a Major League-best fi ve selections within the fi rst 78 picks during the fi rst day of the Draft. The Chicago Cubs (24th, 62nd, 77th, 78th) and the Cleveland Indians (29th, 35th, 41st, 67th) will each make four selections on the Draft’s opening day. The Draft will once again feature Competitive Balance Rounds, which were originally agreed upon as a part of the 2012-2016 Basic Agreement between MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association, and restructured as part of the 2017-2021 Basic Agreement. The Competitive Balance Rounds give Clubs with the lowest revenues and in the smallest markets an additional draft pick each year. Eight teams were awarded CB Round A picks, and six teams were given CB Round B picks. The groups of teams in each of the CB Rounds will alternate each year through 2021. Additionally, the Draft will include free agent compensation picks, which were also restructured as part of the 2017-2021 Basic Agreement. Compensation picks in 2018 include picks 31 through 35, immediately following the fi rst round, and picks 75 through 78, which follow CB Round B. The Draft will have 40 rounds, and a Club may pass on its selection in any round and not forfeit its right to participate in other rounds. The 2018 Draft will span three days, as it has since 2009. For day one on June 4th, Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com. Beginning with the fi rst pick in Round 2 and continuing through overall pick number 78, the Draft will air live exclusively on MLB.com. The intervals between selections during round one will last four minutes, followed by one-minute intervals between selections for the remainder of day one. The Draft will resume at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, June 5th, when selections will be made for rounds 3-10, with one minute intervals between selections. Day three of the Draft on Wednesday, June 6th will begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET), featuring picks in rounds 11-40, with no time delay between selections. Each of the 30 Major League Clubs will be represented at the Draft by one of its former players and/or a member of its front offi ce. Last year’s representatives included Hall of Famer George Brett, legendary manager Jim Leyland and 1976 National League Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones, amongst others. The Club representatives who will attend the 2018 Draft will be announced in the weeks ahead, as well as information on MLB’s annual Draft Luncheon for media members. In addition to the Club representatives, four players chosen in the fi rst round of the Draft last year were in attendance. Amateur players will again be invited to this year’s festivities. 2018 Order of Selection Pick By Round .. First Round First Round (Comp) Second Round CB Round B Third Round Fourth Round 1 Detroit Tigers 31 Tampa Bay Rays [For Cobb] 44 Detroit Tigers 69 Miami Marlins 79 Detroit Tigers 105 Detroit Tigers 2 San Francisco Giants 32 Tampa Bay Rays [For Rasmussen] 45 San Francisco Giants 70 Oakland Athletics 80 San Francisco Giants 106 San Francisco Giants 3 Philadelphia Phillies 33 Kansas City Royals [For Cain] 46 Chicago White Sox 71 Tampa Bay Rays 81 Chicago White Sox 107 Philadelphia Phillies 4 Chicago White Sox 34 Kansas City Royals [For Hosmer] 47 Cincinnati Reds 72 Cincinnati Reds 82 Cincinnati Reds 108 Chicago White Sox 5 Cincinnati Reds 35 Cleveland Indians [For Santana] 48 New York Mets 73 Milwaukee Brewers 83 New York Mets 109 Cincinnati Reds 84 San Diego Padres 110 New York Mets 6 New York Mets 49 Atlanta Braves 74 Minnesota Twins 7 San Diego Padres CB Round A 50 Oakland Athletics 85 Oakland Athletics 111 San Diego Padres 86 Pittsburgh Pirates 112 Atlanta Braves 8 Atlanta Braves 36 Pittsburgh Pirates 51 Pittsburgh Pirates Second Round (Comp) 9 Oakland Athletics 52 Toronto Blue Jays 87 Baltimore Orioles 113 Oakland Athletics 37 Baltimore Orioles 75 St. Louis Cardinals [For Lynn] 10 Pittsburgh Pirates 38 San Diego Padres 53 Miami Marlins 88 Toronto Blue Jays 114 Pittsburgh Pirates 76 Colorado Rockies [For Holland] 11 Baltimore Orioles 39 Arizona Diamondbacks 54 Seattle Mariners 89 Miami Marlins 115 Baltimore Orioles 77 Chicago Cubs [For Arrieta] 12 Toronto Blue Jays 40 Kansas City Royals 55 Texas Rangers 90 Seattle Mariners 116 Toronto Blue Jays 78 Chicago Cubs [For Davis] 13 Miami Marlins 41 Cleveland Indians 56 Tampa Bay Rays 91 Texas Rangers 117 Miami Marlins 14 Seattle Mariners 42 Colorado Rockies 57 Los Angeles Angels 92 Tampa Bay Rays 118 Seattle Mariners 15 Texas Rangers 43 St. Louis Cardinals 58 Kansas City Royals 93 Los Angeles Angels 119 Texas Rangers 16 Tampa Bay Rays 59 Minnesota Twins 94 Kansas City Royals 120 Tampa Bay Rays 17 Los Angeles Angels 60 Milwaukee Brewers 95 St. Louis Cardinals 121 Los Angeles Angels 18 Kansas City Royals 61 New York Yankees 96 Colorado Rockies 122 Kansas City Royals 19 St. Louis Cardinals 62 Chicago Cubs 97 New York Yankees 123 St. Louis Cardinals 20 Minnesota Twins 63 Arizona Diamondbacks 98 Chicago Cubs 124 Minnesota Twins 21 Milwaukee Brewers 64 Boston Red Sox 99 Arizona Diamondbacks 125 Milwaukee Brewers 100 Boston Red Sox 126 Colorado Rockies 22 Colorado Rockies 65 Washington Nationals 101 Washington Nationals 127 New York Yankees 23 New York Yankees 66 Houston Astros 102 Houston Astros 128 Chicago Cubs 24 Chicago Cubs 67 Cleveland Indians 103 Cleveland Indians 129 Arizona Diamondbacks 25 Arizona Diamondbacks 68 Los Angeles Dodgers 104 Los Angeles Dodgers 130 Boston Red Sox 26 Boston Red Sox 131 Washington Nationals 27 Washington Nationals 132 Houston Astros 28 Houston Astros 133 Cleveland Indians 29 Cleveland Indians 134 Los Angeles Dodgers 30 Los Angeles Dodgers GETTING DRAFTY Among the 877 players who were on 2018 Opening Day 25-man rosters, disabled lists and restricted lists, a total of 648 players were selected in the MLB Draft.