The Chicago White Sox were awarded the No. 1 overall pick during the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.
The White Sox finished the 2025 regular season with a 60-102 record and as a result had the highest odds to receive the first pick in the 2026 Draft at 27.73%. That came one year after they set an MLB record for most losses in a single season in the Modern Era (since 1901).
But despite losing 121 games in 2024, they only ended up with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
That was due to the new rules in the Draft Lottery Era that began in 2023. One of which states that payor clubs — a team that gives rather than just receives money from revenue sharing — cannot have lottery picks in consecutive years.
This will be the White Sox’s third No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, with the other two coming in 1971 and 1977.
They drafted Danny Goodwin straight out of high school in 1971, but he did not end up playing for the organization. He was the first No. 1 overall pick in MLB history to not sign with the team that drafted him, choosing instead to accept a scholarship from Southern University.
Goodwin was later selected with the first overall pick in the 1975 MLB Draft, this time by the California Angels. He has the unique distinction of being the only player in MLB history drafted No. 1 overall twice.
The White Sox’s other first overall selection worked out much better, as they drafted Hall of Famer Harold Baines. He played 22 seasons in the Majors, spending parts of 14 them with the White Sox. Baines hit .288/.346/.463 with 221 home runs and 981 RBI during his tenure in Chicago.
2026 MLB Draft Lottery results
The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants made major jumps in the Draft order, moving from No. 13 to No. 6 and No. 12 to No. 4, respectively.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers each fell five spots from their projected picks.
The New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are all expected to be penalized 10 spots on their first pick for exceeding the second competitive balance tax threshold.
The Dodgers will have the last pick of the first round at No. 40 overall.
Current 2026 MLB Draft first round order
No. 1: Chicago White Sox
No. 2: Tampa Bay Rays
No. 3: Minnesota Twins
No. 4: San Francisco Giants
No. 5: Pittsburgh Pirates
No. 6: Kansas City Royals
No. 7: Baltimore Orioles
No. 8: A’s
No. 9: Atlanta Braves
No. 10: Colorado Rockies
No. 11: Washington Nationals
No. 12: Los Angeles Angels
No. 13: St. Louis Cardinals
No. 14: Miami Marlins
No. 15: Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 16: Texas Rangers
No. 17: Houston Astros
No. 18: Cincinnati Reds
No. 19: Cleveland Guardians
No. 20: Boston Red Sox
No. 21: San Diego Padres
No. 22: Detroit Tigers
No. 23: Chicago Cubs
No. 24: Seattle Mariners
No. 25: Milwaukee Brewers
No. 26: Atlanta Braves
No. 27: New York Mets
No. 28: Houston Astros
No. 29: Cleveland Guardians
No. 30: Kansas City Royals
No. 31: Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 32: St. Louis Cardinals
No. 33: Baltimore Orioles
No. 34: Pittsburgh Pirates
No. 35: New York Yankees
No. 36: Philadelphia Phillies
No. 37: Colorado Rockies
No. 38: Colorado Rockies
No. 39: Toronto Blue Jays
No. 40: Los Angeles Dodgers
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