Pirates win inaugural MLB draft lottery, 3 teams vault into top 5
Major League Baseball's inaugural draft lottery produced plenty of chaos and a shaken-up 2023 draft order.
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved up two spots to win the draft lottery and now hold the top pick in next July's draft. Pittsburgh had the majors' third-worst record in 2022 at 62-100 but shared the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick at 16.5% with the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics.
This will be the sixth draft the Pirates pick first overall, the most in MLB history. It's the first time they'll hold the top pick since 2021, when they selected catcher Henry Davis.
The Minnesota Twins also benefitted from Tuesday's draw by jumping from the 13th pick to the No. 5 slot. Minnesota entered the night with a 0.9% chance of getting the first overall pick. The Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers also moved into the top five, combining to bump the AL-worst Athletics down to the No. 6 pick.
Here's the full 2023 MLB Draft order after the lottery results:
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pirates |
| 2 | Nationals |
| 3 | Tigers |
| 4 | Rangers |
| 5 | Twins |
| 6 | Athletics |
| 7 | Reds |
| 8 | Royals |
| 9 | Rockies |
| 10 | Marlins |
| 11 | Angels |
| 12 | D-Backs |
| 13 | Cubs |
| 14 | Red Sox |
| 15 | White Sox |
| 16 | Giants |
| 17 | Orioles |
| 18 | Brewers |
Picks 19 through 30 were already determined by order of playoff elimination.
Rest of draft order
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 19 | Rays |
| 20 | Blue Jays |
| 21 | Cardinals |
| 22 | Mets |
| 23 | Mariners |
| 24 | Guardians |
| 25 | Braves |
| 26 | Dodgers |
| 27 | Padres |
| 28 | Yankees |
| 29 | Phillies |
| 30 | Astros |
* Mets and Dodgers could drop depending on the level they exceed the competitive-balance tax threshold.