The baseball draft was designed to help the poor at the expense of the rich—and that axiom was never more appropriate than this year.

With the first and 10^th picks in this year’s draft, the Washington Nationals have the greatest opportunity in the draft’s 44-year history to stockpile talent, while the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies are the last team to pick. They won’t make their initial selection until 74 players have been scooped up.

Teams pick in reverse order of their 2008 winning percentage—and the Nationals narrowly won a three-way battle with the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres for the initial selection. The Nats also earned a second booby prize for not signing their first-round selection, Missouri righthander Aaron Crow.

Under new draft legislation, teams are awarded the equivalent pick (plus one) in the following year’s draft in the event they don’t sign their picks in the first two rounds. Unsigned third-rounders result in a supplemental third-round pick.

The Phillies, meanwhile, compromised their opportunity to draft in the first round by signing ex-Seattle Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez as a free agent in the off-season. In addition to receiving Philadelphia’s top pick, the Mariners were awarded a supplemental selection between the first and second rounds.

In all, there are 17 such sandwich selections this year—10 as compensation for the loss of Type A free agents, six as compensation for Type B free agents and one for a team’s failure to sign its previous year’s top selection.

Rated free agents who are offered arbitration by their former clubs provide compensation in the form of draft picks when they sign major-league contracts with new teams. A club losing a ‘Type A’ free agent (rated in the top 20 percent at his position, as determined by a statistical formula compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau) gets the signing team's first-round pick as well as a supplemental first-rounder. A team losing a ‘Type B’ free agent (rated in the 21-40 percent bracket at his position) receives a supplemental first-round pick.

Three free agents whose potential signing would yield compensation remain on the market. But they would bring draft picks to their former clubs only if they sign major-league contracts with another team before the draft. Righthander Ben Sheets (Brewers, Type A) had elbow surgery in February and is expected to be out of action until after the all-star break, while righthander Paul Byrd (Red Sox, Type B) has expressed interest in pitching less than a full season with the big-league team he signs with. Infielder Mark Grudzielanek (Royals, Type B) remains unsigned.

The rotation for the 2009 draft is in the accompanying chart. Compensation picks are noted appropriately with an explanation of those choices listed below the chart. The order from the fourth round through the 50th is identical.

ORDER OF SELECTION—2009 DRAFT

*First-Round Adjustments

10. Nationals (For failure to sign 2008 first-round pick Aaron Crow—9^th overall)

17. Diamondbacks (From Dodgers for Type A free agent Orlando Hudson)

24. Angels (From Mets for Type A free agent Francisco Rodriguez)

25. Angels (From Yankees for Type A free agent Mark Teixeira)

27. Mariners (From Phillies for Type A free agent Raul Ibanez)

29. Yankees (For failure to sign 2008 first-round pick Gerrit Cole—28^th overall)

32. Rockies (From Angels for Type A free agent Brian Fuentes)

Supplemental First-Round Picks

33. Mariners (for Ibanez)

34. Rockies (for Fuentes)

35. Diamondbacks (for Hudson)

36. Dodgers (For loss of Type A free agent Derek Lowe to Braves)

37. Blue Jays (For loss of Type A free agent A.J. Burnett to Yankees)

38. White Sox (For loss of Type A free agent Orlando Cabrera to Athletics)

39. Brewers (For loss of Type A free agent C.C. Sabathia to Yankees)

40. Angels (for Teixeira)

41. Diamondbacks (For loss of Type A free agent Juan Cruz to Royals)

42. Angels (for Rodriguez)

43. Reds (For loss of Type B free agent Jeremy Affeldt to Giants)

44. Rangers (For loss of Type B free agent Milton Bradley to Cubs)

45. Diamondbacks (For loss of Type B free agent Brandon Lyon to Tigers)

46. Twins (For loss of Type B free agent Dennys Reyes to Cardinals)

47. Brewers (For loss of Type B free agent Brian Shouse to Rays)

48. Angels (For loss of Type B free agent Jon Garland to Diamondbacks)

49. Pirates (For failure to sign 2008 second-round pick Tanner Scheppers—48^th overall)

#Second-Round Adjustments

56. Dodgers (from Braves for Lowe)

60. Diamondbacks (from Royals for Cruz)

61. White Sox (from Athletics for Cabrera)

73. Brewers (from Yankees for Sabathia)

76. Yankees (For failure to sign 2008 second-round pick Scott Bittle—75^th overall)

^Third-Round Adjustments

104. Blue Jays (from Yankees for Burnett)

Supplemental Third-Round Pick

111. Astros (For failure to sign 2008 third-round pick Chase Davidson)

--COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON