(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Julian Guilarte
December 9, 2023
Nashville, TN — The Winter Meetings began on December 3 and the MLB Draft Lottery took place on day 3 on December 6. Team officials and reporters were scrambling to the ballroom on the fourth floor of the Gaylord Opryland hotel to get set for the MLB Draft Lottery.
The Cleveland Guardians (76-86) shocked the MLB Draft Lottery by getting the top pick, despite 50-1 odds. This is the first time they have the top pick in the MLB Draft. They’ve had the second pick five times.
“The lottery certainly gives us an opportunity we otherwise wouldn’t have had in the other system,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “The only way to do this in the other system is to have a really, really tough year where you have the worst record in baseball. I’d much rather get it this way.”
The Washington Nationals (71-91) actually won the first drawing for the top pick, but they were ineligible to pick higher than 10th because of rules installed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that prohibit revenue-sharing payees from being selected in the lottery in consecutive years. The Nationals had the second pick in this past draft and took LSU outfielder Dylan Crews. As a result of this, they wound up with the 10th pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
The Cincinnati Reds (82-80) went from a potential postseason team in September to the second overall pick. The Reds had 100-1 odds to land the second overall pick. The Reds made it a tremendous day for the state of Ohio. The odds of both teams being in the top two picks of the draft were 5000-1 per MLB Draft X https://x.com/mlbdraft/status/1732205773340721387?s=46
Reds reporter Trent Rosecrans spoke to World Baseball Network about the MLB Draft Lottery. “MLB implementing the Draft Lottery last year was an awesome idea,” Rosecrans said. “I believe it will make teams less inclined to tank going forward.” This is massive for a Reds team that looks to build on more young talent after a winning season.
The Oakland Athletics are the latest example of why the lottery could discourage teams from tanking. The Athletics landed the fourth pick despite having the worst record in MLB (50-112) by six games. The Kansas City Royals (56-108) and the Colorado Rockies (59-103) all had equal odds of landing the first pick at 18.3 percent. The Royals took the worst fall of the three teams, sliding all the way back to the sixth pick. The Rockies ended up picking third.