Pirates win 1st MLB draft lottery, right to pick first

The Pittsburgh Pirates secured the No. 1 wide prime successful adjacent year's draught connected Tuesday, during Major League Baseball's archetypal draught lottery. The adjacent 5 picks, respectively, went to the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics.

MLB and the MLB Players' Association agreed to a draught lottery successful the caller corporate bargaining agreement, whereby the 18 teams that did not scope the postseason would vie for the archetypal six selections. Odds, based connected 2022 winning percentage, ranged from 16.5% (for the Pirates, Nationals and A's) to 0.2% (Milwaukee Brewers).

It volition beryllium the sixth clip the Pirates prime archetypal and the 2nd clip successful 3 years. They took Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 prime successful 2021.

"Every erstwhile successful a portion successful this game, arsenic we each know, it helps to get a small bounce -- and we got 1 tonight," Pirates wide manager Ben Cherington said during an interrogation connected MLB Network.

The A's went successful tied for the champion accidental astatine the No. 1 wide prime and finished with the No. 6 selection. The Twins took an adjacent bigger measurement successful the different direction, starting with the 13th-best likelihood and yet picking fifth.

The Nos. 7 to 18 picks successful adjacent year's draught -- slated for July from Seattle, tract of the adjacent All-Star Game -- volition beryllium slotted by reverse winning percentage, followed by however teams finished successful the postseason (the World Series-champion Houston Astros, for example, volition prime 30th). Rounds 2 done 20 volition navigate wholly successful reverse bid of winning percent and postseason finish.

We volition prime 1st wide successful the 2023 MLB Draft! pic.twitter.com/fHNpobdFGM

"When you're picking up precocious successful the draft, we cognize that that's truly important. Whether it's 1 oregon 3 oregon 5, we've got to get those picks close and bring bully players in," Cherington said. "So I don't consciousness similar it's much pressure. We've had signifier with it evidently recently. I expect and surely anticipation we volition not beryllium sitting successful this spot successful aboriginal years. But we're going to instrumentality vantage of this one."

MLB placed much picks up for grabs than immoderate different large spot successful its archetypal draught lottery. Only the archetypal 4 picks of the NBA draught are attained done the draught lottery. In the NHL, it's conscionable the archetypal two.

The bottommost 3 large league teams were each fixed the aforesaid likelihood for the No. 1 wide prime successful an effort to disincentivize tanking for the worst record. Large-market teams (defined arsenic those who bash not person gross sharing) are prohibited from entering the draught lottery successful back-to-back years; small-market teams can't participate it for 3 consecutive years.

MLB Network announced the results of the lottery wrong a ballroom from the Hyatt edifice successful San Diego that is staging this year's wintertime meetings, with executives from the 18 eligible clubs sitting astatine adjacent tables and outfielder-turned-MLB-executive Raul Ibanez speechmaking the results. But the process took spot hours later, erstwhile a postulation of sealed balls arrived successful a suitcase and 1,001 four-number combinations were assigned to the 18 teams (the higher the likelihood for the No. 1 wide pick, the much combinations assigned to the team). Bill Francis, who helps tally the MLB draft, selected the six four-number combinations that determined the order. PricewaterhouseCoopers oversaw the process.

This volition people the sixth clip the Pirates prime archetypal overall.

Among the options they could look astatine with the apical pick, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, are LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford and Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.