MLB

The 2016 MLB draft has officially arrived, as the next wave of high school and college talent is set to join the professional ranks.

The three-day event kicks off on Thursday night with the first two rounds, and 77 selections total.

All 77 of those picks are laid out team-by-team in the following article, with expert scouting reports, pick analysis and draft grades provided for each selection.

Major League Baseball's draft is unique in comparison to other popular sports like football and basketball. The ultimate goal of finding new stars is the same, but the process is different. 

When the 2016 MLB draft begins Thursday, fans will get to see scouts earn their money. Anyone can recognize a player's talent at the top level. It doesn't take a genius to see why Mike Trout, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper are superstars. 

In terms of instant gratification, the MLB draft is guaranteed to be a disappointment. However, there's no question a handful of future stars are sitting in the 2016 class.

On a cold and windy late-April morning, Barnegat High School pitcher Jason Groome made his first start in nearly three weeks. Behind home plate, officials placed orange cones to reserve room for more than 25 major league scouts and executives. Those men held radar guns and took notes.

With unwavering regularity, every baseball season eventually turns into an arms race. The long slog through the summer months gives front offices plenty of time to evaluate their rosters, playoff chances and payroll situations.

There is almost never enough good pitching, even for the best teams, so the player wish lists drafted well before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline are often chock-full of hurlers, both starters and those in relief.

The kid was something special, all right. But the story of how Clayton Kershaw, a skinny stick-figured high schooler, landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers 10 years ago as the seventh overall pick in the draft?

The astounding true fact that five pitchers—count 'em—were drafted ahead of him?

Oh, that story is every bit as dramatic as Kershaw's current, majestic strikeout-to-walk ratio of 109:6.

The 2016 MLB draft has been without a consensus top prospect throughout the evaluation process, but with the hours dwindling down until things get underway Thursday in Secaucus, New Jersey, the guessing games will soon be over.   

The San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner is one of the best left-handers in baseball. He's a three-time All-Star, a three-time champion and a National League Championship Series and World Series MVP.

Here's a scary thought for opposing hitters: He might also be getting better.

Highly regarded shortstop prospect Delvin Perez reportedly failed a drug test before Thursday’s MLB draft.

Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported the news and said Perez, who was once a “potential top-five pick,” has “recently slid down draft boards” as a result. 

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Vincent Velasquez left Wednesday's game against the Chicago Cubs after just two pitches with a biceps injury, and it is uncertain when he will return to action.

Continue for updates.