Tigers get No. 11 overall pick in MLB draft lottery; Guardians surge to No. 1
Evan Petzold
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Detroit Tigers received the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft during the second-ever lottery Tuesday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.
The Tigers, represented by Hall of Fame shortstop Alan Trammell at the lottery, entered the day projected for the No. 11 overall pick — with a 1.6% chance of moving all the way up to No. 1 — in the 2024 draft.
The draft is scheduled for mid-July in Arlington, Texas, as part of the All-Star Game festivities. Three of the five teams in the American League Central have a top 6 draft pick, including the Cleveland Guardians at No. 1 overall.
The Guardians moved up eight spots to win the lottery despite having a 2% chance. The rest of the six lottery picks: Reds at No. 2, Rockies at No. 3, Athletics at No. 4, White Sox at No. 5 and Royals at No. 6.
The Tigers had the 11th-worst record at 78-84 in the 2023 season. (The Washington Nationals, with the fifth-worst record, were ineligible for a lottery pick, which benefitted the odds for the Tigers, ranking them 10th pre-lottery.)
Lottery eligible teams — or the 17 of 18 nonplayoff teams, without the Nationals — that didn’t land picks 1-6 will select in reverse order of their 2023 winning percentage for picks 718 and the remainder of the first round.
In the second through 20th rounds, nonpostseason teams will choose in reverse order of their winning percentage, meaning the Tigers will pick 11th in each round.
"I don't have too many hard and fast rules in the draft," Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg said. "It's ultimately an exercise in finding major-league value . ... I think we're going to be well-positioned to add some real impact to the organization during a time where we can really continue to move things forward."
The Athletics, Royals and Rockies had 18.3% odds of getting the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the White Sox (14.7%), St. Louis Cardinals (8.3%), Los Angeles Angels (6.1%) and New York Mets (4.3%).
Some of the top players in the 2024 draft, according to MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, include West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt, Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz, Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana, Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns, Florida first baseman/left-hander Jac Caglianone, Georgia first baseman/outfielder Charlie Condon, Iowa right-hander Brody Brecht, North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, Summerville High School (North Carolina) outfielder PJ Morlando and LSU third baseman Tommy White.