Detroit Tigers get third pick overall in 2023 MLB draft after move up in first-ever lottery
Evan Petzold
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. The Texas Rangers are fourth, followed by the Minnesota Twins and the Oakland Athletics, falling from second to sixth.
The 2023 draft takes place next July in Seattle as part of MLB's All-Star Game festivities.
"Every opportunity to acquire an impact young player is sacred, and now we're even closer to the top of the draft," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Tuesday night. "We're going to get to a place in this organization where we are not picking at the top of the draft. That is ultimately the goal."
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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.
"You're further up in line to select an impact player, and you have greater spending power," Harris said. "We were just given more resources to play with in July. It's really important that our scouting staff is hitting the scouting trail hard this spring and making sure we're prepared to make the most of the opportunities we have."
Earlier this offseason, the Tigers hired assistant general manager Rob Metzler from the Tampa Bay Rays to lead the amateur and international scouting departments. Metzler then hired Mark Conner from the San Diego Padres as the amateur scouting director.
"Those guys are off to a great start," Harris said. "They complement each other so well, and they both are adored by the scouts that have worked for them in their previous organizations. I expect no less when they're here."
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.
Here's the full 2023 draft order:
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Washington Nationals
- Detroit Tigers
- Texas Rangers
- Minnesota Twins
- Oakland Athletics
- Cincinnati Reds
- Kansas City Royals
- Colorado Rockies
- Miami Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Chicago Cubs
- Boston Red Sox
- Chicago White Sox
- San Francisco Giants
- Baltimore Orioles
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- St. Louis Cardinals
- New York Mets
- Seattle Mariners
- Cleveland Guardians
- Atlanta Braves
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
- New York Yankees
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Houston Astros
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter@EvanPetzold.