1988 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft.| Pick | Player | Team | Position | Hometown/School |
| 1 | Andy Benes | San Diego Padres | RHP | University of Evansville |
| 2 | Mark Lewis | Cleveland Indians | SS | Hamilton HS |
| 3 | Steve Avery | Atlanta Braves | LHP | Kennedy HS |
| 4 | Gregg Olson | Baltimore Orioles | RHP | Auburn University |
| 5 | Bill Bene | Los Angeles Dodgers | RHP | Cal State Los Angeles |
| 6 | Monty Fariss | Texas Rangers | SS | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater |
| 7 | Willie Ansley | Houston Astros | OF | Plainview HS |
| 8 | Jim Abbott | California Angels | LHP | University of Michigan |
| 9 | Ty Griffin | Chicago Cubs | 2B | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| 10 | Robin Ventura | Chicago White Sox | 3B | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater |
| 11 | Pat Combs | Philadelphia Phillies | LHP | Baylor University |
| 12 | Tom Fischer | Boston Red Sox | LHP | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| 13 | Austin Manahan | Pittsburgh Pirates | SS | Horizon HS |
| 14 | Tino Martinez | Seattle Mariners | 1B | University of Tampa |
| 15 | Royce Clayton | San Francisco Giants | SS | St. Bernard HS |
| 16 | Stan Royer | Oakland Athletics | C | Eastern Illinois University |
| 17 | Charles Nagy | Cleveland Indians | RHP | University of Connecticut |
| 18 | Hugh Walker | Kansas City Royals | OF | Jacksonville HS |
| 19 | Dave Wainhouse | Montreal Expos | RHP | Washington State University |
| 20 | Johnny Ard | Minnesota Twins | RHP | Manatee Community College |
| 21 | Dave Proctor | New York Mets | RHP | Allen County Community College |
| 22 | John Ericks | Saint Louis Cardinals | RHP | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign |
| 23 | Brad DuVall | Saint Louis Cardinals | RHP | Virginia Tech |
| 24 | Alex Fernandez | Milwaukee Brewers | RHP | Pace HS |
| 25 | Ed Sprague | Toronto Blue Jays | 3B | Stanford University |
| 26 | Rico Brogna | Detroit Tigers | 1B | Watertown HS |
Supplemental First Round Selections
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
- Arthur Rhodes†, 2nd round, 34th overall by the Baltimore Orioles
- Bob Hamelin, 2nd round, 48th overall by the Kansas City Royals
- Darren Oliver, 3rd round, 63rd overall by the Texas Rangers
- Scott Servais, 3rd round, 64th overall by the Houston Astros
- Marquis Grissom†, 3rd round, 76th overall by the Montreal Expos
- David Weathers, 3rd round, 82nd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays
- Luis Gonzalez†, 4th round, 90th overall by the Houston Astros
- Turk Wendell, 5th round, 112th overall by the Atlanta Braves
- Mickey Morandini†, 5th round, 120th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies
- John Valentin, 5th round, 121st overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Pat Listach, 5th round, 133rd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers
- Eric Karros, 6th round, 140th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Gary DiSarcina, 6th round, 143rd overall by the California Angels
- Rheal Cormier, 6th round, 158th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Greg McMichael, 7th round, 163rd overall by the Cleveland Indians
- Jim Edmonds, 7th round, 169th overall by the California Angels
- Mark Wohlers†, 8th round, 190th overall by the Atlanta Braves
- Tim Naehring, 8th round, 199th overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Tim Wakefield†, 8th round, 200th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Mark Clark, 9th round, 236th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Pete Rose, Jr., 12th round, 295th overall by the Baltimore Orioles
- Scott Hatteberg, 12th round, 302nd overall by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign
- Paul Byrd†, 13th round, 332nd overall by the Cincinnati Reds, but did not sign
- Kenny Lofton†, 17th round, 428th overall by the Houston Astros
- Darren Lewis, 18th round, 463rd overall by the Oakland Athletics
- John Flaherty, 25th round, 641st overall by the Boston Red Sox
- Joey Hamilton, 28th round, 711th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign
- Woody Williams†, 28th round, 732nd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays
- Russ Davis, 29th round, 755th overall by the New York Yankees
- Jeff Frye, 30th round, 765th overall by the Texas Rangers
- Damion Easley†, 30th round, 767th overall by the California Angels
- Deion Sanders, 30th round, 781st overall by the New York Yankees
- Mike Matheny, 31st round, 810th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign
- Aaron Sele†, 37th round, 961st overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not sign
- Marvin Benard, 39th round, 1003rd overall by the Chicago White Sox, but did not sign
- Orlando Palmeiro, 43rd round, 1114th overall by the New York Yankees, but did not sign
- Scott Erickson†, 44th round, 1140th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but did not sign
- Fernando Viña†, 51st round, 1266th overall by the New York Yankees, but did not sign
- Mike Piazza‡, 62nd round, 1390th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers
‡ Hall of Famer
NFL players drafted
- Rodney Peete, 14th round, 359th overall by the Oakland Athletics, but did not sign
- Todd Marinovich, 43rd round, 1101st overall by the California Angels, but did not sign
- Hart Lee Dykes, 54th round, 1300th overall by the Chicago White Sox, but did not sign