The Chicago White Sox received the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft as a result of Tuesday’s draft lottery held at the winter meetings in Orlando, Fla.
It was hardly an upset, as the White Sox entered with the highest chance of getting the pick at 27.7% due to their AL-worst .370 winning percentage in 2025. The Colorado Rockies were the only team to finish with a worse record, but because they received a lottery pick in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, they were ineligible for another lottery pick.
The lottery determined Nos. 1-6 in the draft order. The Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals rounded out the top six picks.
Those were particularly good results for the Rays, who had the 10th-worst record in baseball, and the Giants, who went .500 (81-81) for the fourth-best record among lottery teams.
After the top six, picks were ordered primarily by team records from 2025. However, rules stipulate that the non-playoff teams that are ineligible for the lottery may not pick higher than 10th. That bumped three teams — the Rockies, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels — to the Nos. 10-12 positions.
2026 MLB draft order:
1. Chicago White Sox
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Minnesota Twins
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Kansas City Royals
7. Baltimore Orioles
8. Athletics
9. Atlanta Braves
10. Colorado Rockies
11. Washington Nationals
12. Los Angeles Angels
13. St. Louis Cardinals
14. Miami Marlins
15. Arizona Diamondbacks
16. Texas Rangers
17. Houston Astros
