The MLB offseason is in the full swing of things, and the next big event during the Winter Meetings is the MLB Draft Lottery. The Draft Lottery is a new thing in the MLB, with this only being the second year that the event has been implemented. Therefore, we will explain exactly what the MLB Draft Lottery is and how you can watch it live.
What is the MLB Draft Lottery
Throughout the history of Major League Baseball, the final standings would determine the order of the MLB Draft. The reverse order of the standings would be the order of the draft, meaning the worst teams always had the best picks. While that is still usually the case now, the new MLB Draft lottery does slightly change things.
Last year was the first time that the MLB used a lottery system to determine draft order, and they have brought it back for this season. Now, all non-playoff teams enter a lottery to determine who will get the top picks. The 18 teams (there is an exception this year, but more on that later) that didn't make the playoffs will be put in a lottery that determines the top six picks of the draft. The worse a team's record was, the better their odds of getting one of those top picks.
The lottery was created to persuade teams against tanking because even if you finish with the worst record, it is not a guarantee that you will get the top pick. Likewise, teams that finish with decent records still have a chance at securing a top pick.
How to watch the MLB Draft Lottery
The Winter Meetings this year are at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. MLB Network will be broadcasting the MLB Draft Lottery at 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 5. FuboTV carries MLB Network, and you can also keep track of the order on a simulcast on MLB.com.
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5 | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Gaylord Opryland Hotel — Nashville, Tennessee
TV channel: MLB Network | Live stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)
MLB Draft Lottery Odds
Below is the order of the teams with the best odds in the Draft Lottery. The teams with the worst records have better odds in the lottery, but there is a twist. The bottom three teams all have equivalent odds, an 18.3 percent chance for the top pick.
Additionally, the Washington Nationals, even though they finished with the fifth-worst record, are ineligible for a top pick because they are a large market team that had the second-overall pick last year. The highest the Nationals can pick this year is 10th.
1. Oakland Athletics (18.3%)
2. Kansas City Royals (18.3%)
3. Colorado Rockies (18.3%)
4. Chicago White Sox (14.7%)
5. Washington Nationals* (0%)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (8.3%)
7. Los Angeles Angels (6.1%)
8. New York Mets (4.3%)
9. Pittsburgh Pirates (3%)
10. Cleveland Guardians (2%)
11. Detroit Tigers (1.6%)
12. Boston Red Sox (1.2%)
13. San Francisco Giants (1%)
14. Cincinnati Reds (0.9%)
15. San Diego Padres (0.7%)
16. New York Yankees (0.6%)
17. Chicago Cubs (0.4%)
18. Seattle Mariners (0.2%)
Top draft prospects
The lottery teams are all praying for the top pick, but in this year's draft class, it may matter less than normal. Last year's class had unmatched star power at the top of the draft. That is less so the case this year, although there is some good talent at the top. However, this draft class is unusually deep, so even teams that fall in the lottery can still end up with a great player.
The top of the 2024 MLB Draft class is dominated by position players. Only one college first baseman (Spencer Torkelson, 2020) has been taken number one overall, but Nick Kurtz is the favorite to join him this year. The Wake Forest product combines power and contact like few others can.
J.J. Wetherholt will also be in the conversation for the top pick. He is arguably the best pure hitter in the class, and that is a great trait to have, considering he plays shortstop, the premier position in baseball. Wetherholt goes to West Virginia. Travis Bazzana is another middle infielder with five-tool potential. The second baseman plays at Oregon State.
Wake Forest might have two of the top picks next year, as they also have the top pitching prospect. Chase Burns is a right-hander who dominated at Tennessee but transferred to play for the Demon Deacons. Burns has an unbelievable ability to make players swing and miss.
Another player to watch out for at the top of the draft is Jac Caglianone out of Florida. Caglianone has drawn Shohei Ohtani comparisons because he has thrived both as a pitcher and as a position player at the collegiate level. Two-way players are all of the rage right now, and that will surely help the Gators' star on draft day.
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