Nationals, Athletics, Pirates favoured to win 1st MLB draft lottery on Tuesday
Event includes 18 teams that missed playoffs and didn't forfeit 1st-round pick
As soon as general managers started arriving in Las Vegas for their annual meetings, Major League Baseball set some odds — for its first amateur draft lottery.
The event will be held Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET at the winter meetings in San Diego to determine the top six picks next summer, so the team with the worst record in MLB could wind up picking as late as seventh in Round 1 of the next year's draft.
Under the agreement in March that ended the 99-day lockout, the lottery includes 18 teams that failed to reach the post-season and didn't forfeit their first-round pick, such as for signing a qualified free agent.
Washington, Oakland and Pittsburgh, each of which lost 100 or more games, have the best odds of getting the top pick at 16.5 per cent. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati both went 62-100 but the Pirates were slotted third because they had a worse record that the Reds in 2021.
The players' association pushed for the lottery to discourage teams from trying to get the top pick. The Houston Astros lost 324 games from 2011-13, earning the top pick in three straight years, and went 70-92 in 2014, part of a rebuilding that led to four World Series appearances from 2017-22, including titles in 2017 and this year.
Players the Astros selected high in the draft included shortstop Carlos Correa (No. 1 in 2012), pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (41st in 2012), third baseman Alex Bregman (No. 2 in 2015) and outfielder Kyle Tucker (fifth in 2015).
Among other teams in the lottery, Cincinnati has a 13.2 per cent chance, followed by Detroit (7.5), Colorado (3.9), Los Angeles Angels (1.85), Chicago Cubs (1.1), Boston (0.8), San Francisco (0.5) and Milwaukee (0.2).
The NBA started a draft lottery in 1985 and the NHL in 1995.
With files from CBC Sports
