Cleveland Guardians, you are on the clock.

The 2024 MLB draft lottery was held at the annual winter meetings in Nashville on Tuesday, and even with one of the slimmest odds of all eligible teams, Cleveland was selected to have the No. 1 pick in next summer's draft.

Like the NBA draft, MLB decides the top half of its draft order through a lottery system, rather than basing it on the previous season's records. The three worst teams are given an 18.3% chance of getting the top pick, with the odds decreasing as the order goes up. The lottery is used to determine the first six picks, after which the regular season records determines the rest.

The Guardians entered Tuesday with a 2% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick — the ninth best odds to get the top selection — and will have it for the first time in franchise history. Other surprises in the lottery include the Cincinnati Reds landing in second despite having a winning record, and the Oakland A's falling out of the top three despite having the worst record in baseball.

2024 MLB draft order

  1. Cleveland Guardians
  2. Cincinnati Reds
  3. Colorado Rockies
  4. Oakland A’s
  5. Chicago White Sox
  6. Kansas City Royals
  7. St. Louis Cardinals
  8. Los Angeles Angels
  9. Pittsburgh Pirates
  10. Washington Nationals
  11. Detroit Tigers
  12. Boston Red Sox
  13. San Francisco Giants
  14. Chicago Cubs
  15. Seattle Mariners
  16. Miami Marlins
  17. Milwaukee Brewers
  18. Tampa Bay Rays
  19. New York Mets
  20. Toronto Blue Jays
  21. Minnesota Twins
  22. Baltimore Orioles
  23. Los Angeles Dodgers
  24. Atlanta Braves
  25. San Diego Padres
  26. New York Yankees
  27. Philadelphia Phillies
  28. Houston Astros
  29. Arizona Diamondbacks
  30. Texas Rangers

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

2024 MLB draft top prospects

Cleveland will have several options to choose from when its makes its selection in July. Here are the top five college and high school baseball stars who could hear their name be called first next summer, according to MLB.com:

High school:

  • PJ Morlando, outfielder, Summerville, S.C.
  • Konnor Griffin, outfielder/pitcher, Florence, Mississippi
  • Cam Caminiti, pitcher/outfielder, Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Noah Franco, outfielder/pitcher, Bradenton, Florida
  • Bryce Rainer, third base/pitcher, Simi Valley, California

College:

  • Nick Kurtz, first base, Wake Forest
  • JJ Wetherholt, shortstop, West Virginia
  • Travis Bazzana, second base, Oregon State
  • Jac Caglianone, first base/pitcher, Florida
  • Chase Burns, pitcher, Wake Forest

MLB draft No. 1 pick history

Here is every No. 1 pick in the MLB draft since 2000:

  • 2023: Paul Skenes, Pirates
  • 2022: Jackson Holliday, Orioles
  • 2021: Henry Davis, Pirates
  • 2020: Spencer Torkelson, Tigers
  • 2019: Adley Rutschman, Orioles
  • 2018: Casey Mize, Tigers
  • 2017: Royce Lewis, Twins
  • 2016: Mickey Moniak, Phillies
  • 2015: Dansby Swanson, Diamondbacks
  • 2014: Brady Aiken, Astros
  • 2013: Mark Appel, Astros
  • 2012: Carlos Correa, Astros
  • 2011: Gerrit Cole, Pirates
  • 2010: Bryce Harper, Nationals
  • 2009: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
  • 2008: Tim Beckham, Rays
  • 2007: David Price, Rays
  • 2006: Luke Hochevar, Royals
  • 2005: Justin Upton, Diamondbacks
  • 2004: Matt Bush, Padres
  • 2003: Delmon Young, Rays
  • 2002: Bryan Bullington, Pirates
  • 2001: Joe Mauer, Twins
  • 2000: Adrián González, Marlins

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.