MLB Draft Lottery 2024: Everything You Need To Know
Image credit: Rob Manfred (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The baseball world has descended on Nashville this week for the annual Winter Meetings. While the Hot Stove is heating up during free agency, there are plenty of other big moments to watch this week, including the MLB Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
What Is The Draft Lottery?
In past years, the draft order was the reverse order of the standings. However, in 2022, Major League Baseball and the Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement. Under the new CBA, the first six picks of the MLB Draft will follow a lottery system to discourage tanking for a higher pick.
2024 Draft Rankings
Here are the 100 best players in the 2024 MLB Draft class entering the winter.
Each of the 18 non-playoff teams has a chance at landing the number one pick, with the odds decreasing as you move up the standings. To help discourage tanking, the three teams with the worst standings at the end of the season will have the same odds for the top pick.
How To Stream The 2024 MLB Draft Lottery
The Draft Lottery takes place at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday, Dec. 5. MLB Network will broadcast the event beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. You can also watch a simulcast on MLB.com.
How Does The Draft Lottery Work?
Teams are assigned number combinations. These numbers correspond with ping pong balls drawn in 15-second intervals. The lottery will select the No. 1 overall pick and make their way to pick No. 6.
Once the first six picks are selected, picks 7-18 fall in line with the pre-lottery odds of the non-playoff teams.
The order of the postseason teams is determined by elimination date and revenue-sharing status, with the Marlins selecting 19th overall and the World Series champion Rangers picking 30th.
Who Won The 2023 Draft Lottery?
Last year, when the lottery selected numbers 11-8-10-2, the Pittsburgh Pirates earned the No. 1 pick despite having the third-worst record and selected Paul Skenes in the 2023 MLB Draft.
You can read a full play-by-play from Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper, who was in the room for the lottery.
2024 MLB Draft Lottery Odds
The Athletics, Royals and Rockies have an 18.3% chance at the No. 1 pick in the draft.
| Team | Odds |
| Athletics | 18.30% |
| Royals | 18.30% |
| Rockies | 18.30% |
| White Sox | 14.70% |
| Cardinals | 8.30% |
| Angels | 6.10% |
| Mets | 4.30% |
| Pirates | 3.00% |
| Guardians | 2.00% |
| Nationals | — |
| Tigers | 1.60% |
| Red Sox | 1.20% |
| Giants | 1.00% |
| Reds | 0.90% |
| Padres | 0.70% |
| Yankees | 0.60% |
| Cubs | 0.40% |
| Mariners | 0.20% |
Check out the complete draft order and an additional explanation on the lottery odds here.
What About The Nationals?
Despite finishing with the fifth-worst record in MLB, Washington is ineligible for this year’s draft lottery and will pick no sooner than 10. The Nationals paid into revenue sharing and had a lottery pick in 2023 – where they selected Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick – lowering their odds to zero for a lottery pick.
Who Are The Top 2024 MLB Draft Prospects?
Unlike the 2023 MLB Draft, where Crews was a consensus top-of-the-class talent at this point, it seems the industry agrees that 2024 is a bit of a down class with a wide-open draft board. A down class allows players to perform this spring and jump up the 2024 MLB Draft rankings.
You can find all of our latest draft rankings and coverage below.
