The 1987 MLB Draft took place as a conference call to the Commissioner of Baseball's office in New York from June 2–4.

Two years after he was drafted, the Pirates traded Merchant to Seattle, where he got to meet Ken Griffey Jr. Chicago White Sox' first overall selection Jack McDowell won the 1993 Cy Young Award as Chicago made a League Championship Series appearance that year.

The final two selections in the first round both came from American League teams, as the AL had two more organizations than the NL.

The date of the draft was set for June 2–4, and would occur as a conference call to the Commissioner of Baseball's office in New York.

The 1986 World Series champion New York Mets drafted third-to-last, with the runner-up Boston Red Sox selecting last.

The following players were drafted outside of the first two rounds and played in at least one major league game: The Kansas City Royals had the most picks of any team, with 74; following the Royals, the Toronto Blue Jays made 71, and the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets made 61 apiece.

Over his 22-year career, Griffey Jr. was elected to thirteen All-Star games, won seven Silver Slugger Awards, and helped Seattle make their first playoff appearance as a franchise during the 1995 season.

[15][16] The Pirates made the playoffs for three consecutive seasons from 1990 to 1992 but lost in the National League Championship Series all three years.