The draft order was determined by the 2010 Major League Baseball standings. The Pittsburgh Pirates received the first pick after having the worst record in 2010.
"2011 First-Year Player Draft Order Announced: MLB Network to Host Day One Festivities on Monday, June 6th Live From Studio 42 Pittsburgh Pirates Select First Overall; Tampa Bay Rays Hold 10 of Top 60 Picks" (Press release). Major League Baseball. April 14, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110414&content_id=17768930&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
"Pirates guaranteed worst record, No. 1 pick in '11". Associated Press. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101002103721/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/09/29/pirates.draft.ap/index.html
"AL Elias rankings". USA Today. November 1, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2011. https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/2007-10-31-elias-rankings-complete_N.htm
"Brewers have four ranked FAs". JSOnline. Retrieved November 1, 2011. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/132938198.html
Compensation for unsigned 2010 pick Barret Loux /wiki/Barret_Loux
Compensation for unsigned 2010 pick Karsten Whitson /wiki/Karsten_Whitson
Compensation for unsigned 2010 pick Dylan Covey /wiki/Dylan_Covey
Pick from the Detroit Tigers for loss of Type A free agent Víctor Martínez /wiki/Detroit_Tigers
Pick from the Chicago White Sox for loss of Type A free agent Adam Dunn /wiki/Chicago_White_Sox
Pick from the Boston Red Sox for loss of Type A free agent Carl Crawford /wiki/Boston_Red_Sox
Pick from the Texas Rangers for loss of Type A free agent Adrián Beltré /wiki/Texas_Rangers_(baseball)
Pick from the New York Yankees for loss of Type A free agent Rafael Soriano /wiki/New_York_Yankees
Pick from the Philadelphia Phillies for loss of Type A free agent Cliff Lee /wiki/Philadelphia_Phillies
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Adam Dunn /wiki/Adam_Dunn
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Scott Downs /wiki/Scott_Downs
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Víctor Martínez /wiki/V%C3%ADctor_Mart%C3%ADnez_(baseball)
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Cliff Lee /wiki/Cliff_Lee
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Carl Crawford /wiki/Carl_Crawford
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Jayson Werth /wiki/Jayson_Werth
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Adrián Beltré /wiki/Adri%C3%A1n_Beltr%C3%A9
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Grant Balfour /wiki/Grant_Balfour
Compensation for loss of Type A free agent Rafael Soriano
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Adam LaRoche /wiki/Adam_LaRoche
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Pedro Feliciano /wiki/Pedro_Feliciano
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Octavio Dotel /wiki/Octavio_Dotel
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent John Buck /wiki/John_Buck_(baseball)
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent J. J. Putz /wiki/J._J._Putz
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Jon Garland /wiki/Jon_Garland
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Juan Uribe /wiki/Juan_Uribe
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Jesse Crain /wiki/Jesse_Crain
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Javier Vázquez /wiki/Javier_V%C3%A1zquez_(baseball)
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Brad Hawpe /wiki/Brad_Hawpe
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Miguel Olivo /wiki/Miguel_Olivo
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Yorvit Torrealba /wiki/Yorvit_Torrealba
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Orlando Hudson /wiki/Orlando_Hudson
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Randy Choate /wiki/Randy_Choate
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Kevin Gregg /wiki/Kevin_Gregg
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Kevin Correia /wiki/Kevin_Correia
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Brad Hawpe /wiki/Brad_Hawpe
Compensation for loss of Type B free agent Chad Qualls /wiki/Chad_Qualls