MLB's third ever amateur Draft Lottery will take place Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. MLB and the MLBPA agreed to the lottery as part of the current collective bargaining agreement in an effort to curb tanking and anti-competitive behavior in general. The top six picks are now awarded through the lottery.
The Guardians won the Draft Lottery last offseason and received the No. 1 pick despite finishing with the league's ninth-worst record. Cleveland took Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 selection. The Reds also won big when they moved up from No. 13 to No. 2. The Athletics, despite having baseball's worst record in 2023, got bumped back to No. 4.
2025 MLB Draft Lottery streaming info
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 10 | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV channel: MLB Network | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
Here now is everything you need to know going into Tuesday's Draft Lottery.
Odds for No. 1 pick
Non-postseason teams have a chance at the No. 1 selection through the lottery, though the worst teams have the best odds. Here are the odds for the No. 1 pick:
| Team | No. 1 pick odds | Team | No. 1 pick odds |
|---|---|---|---|
22.5% | 1.5% | ||
22.5% | 1.2% | ||
18.0% | 1.1% | ||
10.2% | 0.8% | ||
7.5% | 0.7% | ||
5.3% | 0.5% | ||
Reds | 3.7% | 0.3% | |
2.5% | Not eligible | ||
1.9% | Athletics | Not eligible |
Ties are broken using the previous year's record and, normally, the teams with the three worst records in the league are given identical odds for the No. 1 pick. This year though, only two teams have identical odds for the No. 1 pick, not three.
Why are the White Sox not eligible?
The White Sox lost a modern record 121 games in 2024. They were, by far, the worst team in baseball. And yet, the White Sox are ineligible to receive the No. 1 selection through the lottery. That is because they had the No. 5 pick in the 2024 draft, and teams that pay into revenue sharing cannot pick in the lottery in back-to-back years. Teams in Chicago's situation (i.e. not eligible to pick in the lottery because of revenue sharing status) cannot pick any higher than No. 10 overall. Because the White Sox are ineligible, the Rockies and Marlins get a little boost to their No. 1 picks odds. They had the second- and third-worst records in baseball.
Why are the A's not eligible?
Like the White Sox, the A's are not eligible to pick in the lottery, though not for the same reason. The Athletics had the No. 6 pick in 2023 and the No. 4 pick in 2024, and teams that receive revenue sharing money cannot pick in the lottery in three consecutive years. Teams that pay into revenue sharing cannot have lottery picks in back-to-back years and the teams that draw money from revenue sharing cannot have lottery picks in back-to-back-to-back years. Got that? Similar to the White Sox, teams in the A's situation cannot pick any higher than No. 10 overall.
The rest of the first round
Previously, the draft order was set by the reverse order of the previous year's standings. It was nice and easy. Now the top six picks are determined through the lottery, the remaining 12 non-postseason teams then pick in reverse order of the standings (picks 7-18), and the 12 postseason teams pick in order of their finish (picks 19-30).
Furthermore, within each "tier" of postseason finish, those teams pick in reverse order of the standings, with teams that receive revenue sharing picking before teams that pay into revenue sharing. Here is the order for the No. 19-30 picks:
Wild Card Series losers
19. Orioles (91-71, received revenue sharing)
20. Brewers (93-69, received revenue sharing)
21. Astros (88-73, paid revenue sharing)
22. Braves (89-73, paid revenue sharing)
Division Series losers
23. Royals (86-76, received revenue sharing)
24. Tigers (86-76, received revenue sharing, had better record than Royals in 2023)
25. Padres (93-69, paid revenue sharing)
26. Phillies (95-67, paid revenue sharing)
Championship Series losers
27. Guardians (92-69, received revenue sharing)
28. Mets (89-73, paid revenue sharing)
World Series loser
29. Yankees (94-68)
World Series winner
30. Dodgers (98-64)
This order is not final. The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees will each have their first-round pick moved back 10 spots because of their competitive balance tax (CBT) status. Teams that exceed the third CBT threshold ($277 million in 2024) have their first rounder pushed back 10 spots, so the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers will go from Nos. 28, 29, and 30 to Nos. 38, 39, and 40, respectively. Other picks will be moved up accordingly.
The rest of the draft
Only the first round is set using the lottery. The order of rounds 2-20 is the reverse order of this year's standings, so the MLB-worst White Sox will have the first pick of the second round regardless of how the lottery shakes out. There are also free agent compensation and competitive balance round picks scattered throughout the draft. Those additional picks will be determined throughout the offseason. Tuesday's lottery will set the first-round order. Everything after that is TBD as the offseason plays out.
