1979 Major League Baseball draft
The 1979 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 5–7, 1979, via conference call.
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1979 Major League Baseball draft.| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
| 1 | Al Chambers | Seattle Mariners | OF | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 2 | Tim Leary | New York Mets | RHP | UCLA |
| 3 | Jay Schroeder | Toronto Blue Jays | C | Pacific Palisades, California |
| 4 | Brad Komminsk | Atlanta Braves | OF | Lima, Ohio |
| 5 | Juan Bustabad * | Oakland Athletics | SS | Hialeah, Florida |
| 6 | Andy Van Slyke | St. Louis Cardinals | OF | New Hartford, New York |
| 7 | John Bohnet | Cleveland Indians | LHP | Vallejo, California |
| 8 | John Mizerock | Houston Astros | C | Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania |
| 9 | Steve Buechele * | Chicago White Sox | SS | Fullerton, California |
| 10 | Tim Wallach | Montreal Expos | 1B | Cal State Fullerton |
| 11 | Kevin Brandt | Minnesota Twins | OF | Nekoosa, Wisconsin |
| 12 | Jon Perlman | Chicago Cubs | RHP | Baylor University |
| 13 | Rick Leach | Detroit Tigers | OF | University of Michigan |
| 14 | Joe Lansford | San Diego Padres | 1B | San Jose, California |
| 15 | Scott Garrelts | San Francisco Giants | RHP | Buckley, IL |
| 16 | Steve Howe | Los Angeles Dodgers | LHP | University of Michigan |
| 17 | Jerry Don Gleaton | Texas Rangers | LHP | University of Texas at Austin |
| 18 | Rick Luecken * | San Francisco Giants | RHP | Houston, Texas |
| 19 | Rick Seilheimer | Chicago White Sox | C | Brenham, Texas |
| 20 | Dan Lamar | Cincinnati Reds | C | Houston, Texas |
| 21 | Atlee Hammaker | Kansas City Royals | LHP | East Tennessee State University |
| 22 | Mike Sullivan | Cincinnati Reds | RHP | Clemson University |
| 23 | Chris Baker | Detroit Tigers | OF | Dearborn Heights, Michigan |
| 24 | Bob Geren | San Diego Padres | C | San Diego, California |
| 25 | Steve Perry | Los Angeles Dodgers | RHP | University of Michigan |
| 26 | Mike Stenhouse * | Oakland Athletics | OF | Harvard University |
* Did not sign
Compensation Picks
Other notable selections
Later rounds of the draft included the following notable players:- Milt Thompson, 2nd round, 29th overall Atlanta Braves
- Dan Marino, 4th round, 99th overall Kansas City Royals
- Mark Thurmond, 5th round, 118th overall San Diego Padres
- Ron Gardenhire, 6th round, 132nd overall New York Mets
- Bill Doran, 6th round, 138th overall Houston Astros
- Harold Reynolds, 6th round, 144th overall San Diego Padres
- Von Hayes†, 7th round 163rd overall Cleveland Indians
- Johnny Ray, 12th round, 294th overall Houston Astros
- Pete O'Brien, 15th round 381st overall Texas Rangers
- Bud Black, 17th round, 417th overall Seattle Mariners
- Orel Hershiser†, 17th round, 440th overall Los Angeles Dodgers
- John Elway, 18th round, 463rd overall Kansas City Royals
- Don Mattingly†, 19th round, 493rd overall New York Yankees
- Brett Butler†, 23rd round, 573 overall Atlanta Braves
- Curt Warner, 32nd round, 784th overall Philadelphia Phillies
‡ Hall of Famer
A number of future football players were drafted in 1979, including John Elway, Kevin House, Dan Marino, Jay Schroeder, Jack Thompson, and Curt Warner.