Baseball draft to air on ESPN2.

The NFL Draft is a maddeningly hyped non-event that draws relatively big ratings — even if the WWE can get similar numbers on a weekly basis. The NBA Draft has a night to itself, in prime time, on ESPN. Even the NHL and WNBA Drafts are televised on a yearly basis.

Now, baseball joins the party. The MLB Draft will be televised this year, on ESPN2. Unfortunately, it will air on a Thursday afternoon from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, making it quite possible that it could get trounced by the NHL Playoffs on Versus in the ratings. A move to the weekend, or to prime-time, should be next on the agenda for Selig and co.

“Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said the telecast, ‘will give fans access to see this critical function of an organization’s development. This is an idea whose time has come.’

Each team’s first round pick will be televised and all clubs will have a maximum of five minutes to make their selections.“

All 50 rounds will not be televised. As of right now, things do not look promising for television viewership of the event; 62% of the 10,547 respondents answered ‘No’ when asked whether or not they would watch in an ESPN SportsNation poll.