MLB Draft Lottery 2025: How to Watch, Odds, and Everything You Need to Know

The third annual MLB Draft Lottery is set to take place on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, as part of the Winter Meetings in Dallas. This event will determine the order of the top 18 picks in the 2025 MLB Draft, specifically for non-playoff clubs from the previous season.

The lottery process involves assigning varying numbers of four-digit combinations to teams based on their previous season’s standings, with worse teams receiving more combinations. A set of ping-pong balls numbered 1-14 are drawn, and the team with the matching combination wins the No. 1 pick. This process is repeated to determine the No. 2 through No. 6 picks, while the seventh through 18th picks are set in reverse order of the regular-season standings.

The Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins lead the pack with the highest odds of securing the No. 1 pick, each having a 22.45% chance. The Los Angeles Angels follow closely with a 17.96% chance, and the Washington Nationals have a 10.2% chance. Other teams with notable odds include the Toronto Blue Jays at 7.48%, the Pittsburgh Pirates at 5.31%, and the Cincinnati Reds at 3.67%.

The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics are not eligible for the lottery due to specific rules related to revenue sharing. The White Sox, despite having the worst record, cannot participate because they won a lottery pick last year and are a payor club. The Athletics, having won lottery picks in the last two years as a payee club, cannot win a lottery pick for the third consecutive year and can pick no earlier than 10th and 11th, respectively.

The event will be broadcast on MLB Network and can also be streamed live on MLB.com. The 2025 MLB Draft itself is scheduled to take place from July 13-15 in Atlanta.

The draft lottery has the potential to bring significant surprises, as seen last year when the Cleveland Guardians won the top overall selection despite having only the ninth-best odds at 2%.