New MLB draft lottery costs the Royals, giving them the #8 pick

Dec 7, 2022 - 1:50 AM

Baseball held its first-ever MLB draft lottery to determine the order of the first six picks of the draft, and the new format ended up costing the Royals. Kansas City finished with the fifth-worst record last year, but they were passed over in the lottery, and will instead receive the eighth pick in the draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who tied with the Reds for the third-worst record in baseball, will get the #1 pick.

The biggest winner from the lottery was the Minnesota Twins, who had a disappointing season at 78-84, but moved up from #13 in the draft to #5 due to the lottery.

The lottery was implemented to reduce the incentive to tank and finish with a poor record. Each non-playoff team had a chance at landing the #1 pick, weighted by record, except that the three worst teams all had an equal chance of landing the top pick. The Royals came into the lottery with a 10 percent chance of landing the top pick. They had the #9 pick in the 2022 draft, selecting Virginia outfielder Gavin Cross.