MLB Draft Lottery Date Announced

This will be the first year that MLB has had a Draft Lottery, so just how will it work, and where could the A's be picking?

The inaugural Draft Lottery will be held on Tuesday, December 6th from the Winter Meetings in San Diego. MLB Network will be airing a 30-minute lottery reveal show at 5:30 p.m. local time.

In previous seasons, the Oakland A's would have had the second overall pick in next year's draft, but the lottery could give them the top overall pick, or it could slide them down the draft board. Along with the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates, the A's share the best odds at the number one overall pick, with each team holding a 16.5% chance of getting first dibs. The full odds can be found here. 

A couple of important notes on Baseball's version of the lottery: The first six picks will be determined at random, with the odds for a higher pick associated with how they finished the 2022 season. After the sixth pick is determined, the rest of the draft board is determined by record, like in previous seasons. 

For instance, if the A's don't end up with one of the top six picks, but the Nationals do, then the A's would have the 7th overall pick since the A's had the second-worst record in baseball, behind Washington. If neither the A's or Nationals land a pick in the lottery (picks 1-6), then the Nationals would get pick seven, and the A's would draft 8th. Eighth is also the lowest that the A's can pick. 

After the first round, the draft order returns to the previous format, so the A's will have the second pick in each of the subsequent rounds. 

The last time the A's had the first overall pick, it was in the first-ever MLB Draft in 1965, when they selected outfielder Rick Monday. The A's had the second overall pick in 1966, and selected Reggie Jackson. This will be the 17th time in 58 Drafts that the A's will be picking in the top-10. 

There is a site dedicated to the upcoming MLB Lottery, where you can click a button and see where the A's could end up picking. Keep in mind, the odds are against the A's moving up to pick first, or even hold onto their second slot, but that's kind of the point of instituting the lottery system. It's meant to incentivize teams to try and compete on a year-to-year basis by taking aware assured high draft picks. In the few times I have clicked around there, the A's have picked 5th, 7th, and 3rd. 

While you're waiting for the Draft Lottery to role around, check out the interview I did with hard-throwing A's prospect, Mason Miller, for Locked on A's! 

Follow Jason on Twitter @ByJasonB, and make sure to listen to Locked on A's every day, Monday through Friday, for more A's content!