Pirates win top pick in baseball’s first draft lottery
The Pittsburgh SAN DIEGO —
Pirates won baseball’s first draft lottery Tuesday night and will get the top pick of eligible amateur players in July.
The Washington Nationals will select second after finishing last season with the worst record in the major leagues at 55-107. The Detroit Tigers will choose third.
“Every once in a while in this game, as we all know, it helps to get a little bounce — and we got one tonight,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said during an interview on MLB Network.
The Minnesota Twins also were big winners, moving up
from 13th in the pre-lottery order based on their 2022 record to fifth when the ping pong balls were plucked at baseball’s winter meetings.
Oakland was a substantial loser, falling from the second-worst record (60102) to the No. 6 draft pick.
Detroit jumped up from sixth to third and Texas rose from seventh to fourth, giving the Rangers a top-four selection for the third straight year.
The Nationals, Athletics and Pirates entered the lottery with the best chance for the No. 1 pick at 16.5% for each team.
It will be the sixth time the Pirates pick first and second in three years. They snagged Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the top choice in 2021.
“When you get closer it helps your war game a little bit because you know you’re picking first and you can kind of manage it,” Cherington said. “But in terms of the process of getting to know the players, it won’t change much. We were going to get to know the players at the top of the board anyway. But this is exciting.”
LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, Tennessee righthander Chase Dollander and Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez are among the top prospects for the 2023 draft, along with prep outfielders Max Clark and Walker Jenkins.
The lottery was instituted this year as part of Major League Baseball’s labor agreement with the players’ association in March, a measure intended to discourage tanking for top draft picks by struggling teams.
With the change, the club that finishes with the worst record in the big leagues is no longer assured the No. 1 choice in the following draft — or even a spot in the top six.
All 18 clubs that failed to make the 2022 postseason were eligible to win the No. 1 pick.