ORLANDO, Fla. – The Major League Baseball Draft Lottery will take place Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. EST, broadcast on MLB Network and MLB.com from the MLB Winter Meetings at the Signia by Hilton and Waldorf Astoria. With all 30 clubs’ records finalized following the 2025 season, the lottery will determine the top six selections for the 2026 MLB Draft and set the tone for the start of the week in Orlando.
This is the fourth straight year MLB has staged the Draft Lottery during the Winter Meetings. The 2026 MLB Draft is set for July 12–13, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pa., with the first round beginning on Saturday, July 11 as part of All-Star Week coverage on NBC, MLB Network, and Peacock. MLB has not announced the location for the 2027 Draft.
Fifteen of the eighteen non-playoff clubs are eligible for this year’s drawing. Ties between clubs with identical winning percentages are resolved by comparing previous seasons’ records, moving backward year-by-year until the tie is broken.
Toronto, Los Angeles (NL), New York (NL), Philadelphia, and New York (AL) exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, resulting in their first selection dropping ten spots unless they earn a top-six pick. If the Mets receive a top-six selection, they keep that pick and move their second pick back ten spots instead.
Winning percentages in parentheses; odds via MLB.com.
Chicago White Sox (.370) — 27.73%
Minnesota Twins (.432) — 22.18%
Pittsburgh Pirates (.438) — 16.81%
Baltimore Orioles (.463) — 9.24%
Oakland Athletics (.469) — 6.55%
Atlanta Braves (.469) — 4.54%
Tampa Bay Rays (.475) — 3.03%
St. Louis Cardinals (.481) — 2.35%
Miami Marlins (.488) — 1.85%
Arizona Diamondbacks (.494) — 1.51%
Texas Rangers (.500) — 1.34%
San Francisco Giants (.500) — 1.01%
Kansas City Royals (.506) — 0.84%
New York Mets (.512) — 0.67%
Houston Astros (.537) — 0.34%
Colorado Rockies (.265) — ineligible
Washington Nationals (.407) — ineligible
Los Angeles Angels (.444) — ineligible
Colorado is ineligible after receiving lottery selections in 2024 and 2025; MLB rules do not allow a team to pick in the lottery more than two straight years. Washington and Los Angeles (AL) are revenue-sharing payor clubs and cannot receive lottery selections in consecutive drafts.
(Colorado and other ineligible teams included for reference.)
Colorado Rockies (.265)
Chicago White Sox (.370)
Washington Nationals (.407)
Minnesota Twins (.432)
Pittsburgh Pirates (.438)
Los Angeles Angels (.444)
Baltimore Orioles (.463)
Oakland Athletics (.469)
Atlanta Braves (.469)
Tampa Bay Rays (.475)
St. Louis Cardinals (.481)
Miami Marlins (.488)
Arizona Diamondbacks (.494)
Texas Rangers (.500)
San Francisco Giants (.500)
Kansas City Royals (.506)
New York Mets (.512)
Houston Astros (.537)
According to Joe Trezza of MLB.com, the twelve postseason clubs will draft in the following order: Wild Card Series losers, Division Series losers, Championship Series losers, World Series runner-up, and World Series champion. Within each tier, revenue-sharing payee clubs select before non-payees.
Recent lottery winners include the Guardians in 2023, selecting Travis Bazzana; the Pirates in 2022, selecting Paul Skenes; and the Nationals in 2024, who won with 10.2 percent odds and drafted shortstop Eli Willits with the first overall pick.
While the Draft Lottery determines the domestic amateur order, the Rule 5 Draft, which is scheduled for Wednesday during the Winter Meetings, is still the primary route by which international players have historically reached Major League rosters.
Photo: Rob Manfred, left, commissioner of Major League Baseball answers questions during a news conference as Nelson Cruz, former baseball player and general manager of the Dominican National team listens during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico, 1954) and Johan Santana (Venezuela, 1999) famously entered the league through the Rule 5 process, and more recent examples such as Anthony Santander (Venezuela, 2016) and Odúbel Herrera (Venezuela, 2014) followed the same path into everyday roles. The Draft Lottery applies only to amateurs from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, while the broader international free-agent market — the main source of talent from Latin America and Asia — remains unaffected.
Source: MLB | Photo: Rob Manfred, left, commissioner of Major League Baseball answers questions during a news conference as Nelson Cruz, former baseball player and general manager of the Dominican National team listens during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
