The Cleveland Guardians secured the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history during the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery that was held Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee.
“[The lottery] certainly gives us an opportunity we otherwise wouldn’t have had in the other system,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said in a statement.
“The only way to do this in the other system is to have a really, really tough year where you [have] the worst record in baseball. I’d much rather get it this way.”
The Guardians finished 76-86 this past season and entered with only a 2% chance of landing the top selection. The Oakland Athletics (50-112), Kansas City Royals (56-116) and Colorado Rockies (59-103) each had the best odds at 18.3%.
The Athletics and Royals lost ground based on their initial odds, but still landed lottery picks. Meanwhile, the Rockies were awarded with the No. 3 overall selection.
The St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates also slipped in the lottery but will make their first picks within the top 10.
The New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees would have landed in the top 20, but had their first selection drop 10 spots due to exceeding the second luxury tax threshold during the 2023 season.
The Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, who made the playoffs this year, benefited by moving up to the top 18.
The remaining non-playoff teams in the lottery that didn’t land in the top six will pick in the first round based on reverse order of their record from the 2023 season.
2024 MLB Draft first round order
No. 1: Cleveland Guardians
No. 2: Cincinnati Reds
No. 3: Colorado Rockies
No. 4: Oakland Athletics
No. 5: Chicago White Sox
No. 6: Kansas City Royals
No. 7: St. Louis Cardinals
No. 8: Los Angeles Angels
No. 9: Pittsburgh Pirates
No. 10: Washington Nationals
No. 11: Detroit Tigers
No. 12: Boston Red Sox
No. 13: San Francisco Giants
No. 14: Chicago Cubs
No. 15: Seattle Mariners
No. 16: Miami Marlins
No. 17: Milwaukee Brewers
No. 18: Tampa Bay Rays
No. 19: New York Mets
No. 20: Toronto Blue Jays
No. 21: Minnesota Twins
No. 22: Baltimore Orioles
No. 23: Los Angeles Dodgers
No. 24: Atlanta Braves
No. 25: San Diego Padres
No. 26: New York Yankees
No. 27: Philadelphia Phillies
No. 28: Houston Astros
No. 29: Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 30: Texas Rangers
No. 31: Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 32: Baltimore Orioles
No. 33: Minnesota Twins
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
