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The MLB Draft isn't typically a big TV draw, and that's almost unavoidable considering even the top picks are usually more than a year away from suiting up in the Major Leagues. But MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would like to see some changes to simplify what's become a complicated draft process.
“I think that there are aspects of our draft that have gotten away from a really, really simple but important concept,” he said in a Monday appearance on Pardon My Take. “The team that was the worst last year should get the best player in the draft and there should be nothing that interferes with that correlation.”
For the most part, the bad teams do get the best picks. But similar to other leagues, MLB has a lottery system meant to discourage teams from tanking.
“If hard slots are what it takes to make that happen, that's what we ought to do,” Manfred continued. “The lottery thing, I'm not sure that it really affects behavior of teams in any meaningful way. And, you know, sometimes you get into these situations where the team that was the worst is picking further down in the draft than they ought to be.”
“I'm a believer, you know, every 30 picks a team should have a pick and unless they've traded it somehow and the worst team should get the first pick,” he added.
That's not necessarily the case currently. Teams can gain or lose draft picks in free agency as compensation in supplemental rounds between the normal rounds. The league's slotting and bonus pool systems are also confusing to new fans.
Manfred's comments come a week after the 2025 MLB Draft, after which he had to address the embarrassing reality that no prospects were in attendance.
“Some of it is luck of the draw,” he said last week. “Some agencies take the position that they don't want their players there for reasons they'll have to explain to you. I can't. Because I believe it's an important step in terms of marketing a player and making him a star when he gets to the big leagues. Having said that, they give the advice they give.”
