Cleveland Guardians, you are on the clock.
The 2024 MLB draft lottery was held at the annual winter meetings in Nashville on Tuesday, and even with one of the slimmest odds of all eligible teams, Cleveland was selected to have the No. 1 pick in next summer's draft.
Like the NBA draft, MLB decides the top half of its draft order through a lottery system, rather than basing it on the previous season's records. The three worst teams are given an 18.3% chance of getting the top pick, with the odds decreasing as the order goes up. The lottery is used to determine the first six picks, after which the regular season records determines the rest.
The Guardians entered Tuesday with a 2% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick — the ninth best odds to get the top selection — and will have it for the first time in franchise history. Other surprises in the lottery include the Cincinnati Reds landing in second despite having a winning record, and the Oakland A's falling out of the top three despite having the worst record in baseball.
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Cleveland will have several options to choose from when its makes its selection in July. Here are the top five college and high school baseball stars who could hear their name be called first next summer, according to MLB.com:
High school:
College:
Here is every No. 1 pick in the MLB draft since 2000:
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