Detroit Tigers get third pick overall in 2023 MLB draft after move up in first-ever lottery
SAN DIEGO — The first-ever MLB draft lottery took place during the winter meetings Tuesday at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, and the Detroit Tigers received the No. 3 overall pick in 2023 edition of the amateur draft.
The Tigers, the sixth-worst team in baseball last season, moved up three spots from their pre-lottery odds. The Pittsburgh Pirates moved up two spots to No. 1 overall, followed by the Washington Nationals, who dropped one spot. The Texas Rangers are fourth, followed by the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics, who fell from second to sixth.
The 2023 draft takes place next July in Seattle as part of MLB's All-Star Game festivities.
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The Tigers finished 66-96 overall last season and entered Tuesday's draft lottery, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, with a 7.5% chance of picking No. 1 and a 24% chance of moving into the top three. They had an 8% chance of picking second, an 8.5% chance of picking third, a 9.1% chance of picking fourth and a 9.8% chance of picking fifth.
The 18 non-postseason teams were involved in the event, with odds ranging from 16.5% (Washington Nationals) to 0.23% (Milwaukee Brewers). The three worst teams in 2022 — the Nationals, Oakland Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates — all had a 16.5% chance of getting the No. 1 overall selection.
After the first six spots, the remaining teams will draft in reverse order of their 2022 winning percentage. In the second through 20th rounds, non-postseason teams will choose in reverse order of their winning percentage, meaning the Tigers will pick sixth in each round.
Some of the best available players in the 2023 draft, as mentioned by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel: LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford, Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander, Franklin High School (Indiana) outfielder Max Clark, South Brunswick High School (North Carolina) outfielder Walker Jenkins, Mitchell High School (Alabama) third baseman Aidan Miller and Strawberry Crest High School (Florida) shortstop Arjun Nimmala.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers get third pick overall in 2023 MLB draft lottery
