The MLB Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday night during Winter Meetings in Dallas amidst a flurry of free agent signings and trades (Max Fried to the Yankees, Andrés Giménez to the Blue Jays) to decide the order of the 2025 MLB Draft.
The Dodgers didn't really have a dog in this fight. As this year's World Series winners, they automatically slotted in with the 30th pick, while the 18 teams that missed out on the postseason were thrown into a pot to decide the rest of the order.
MLB hasn't really figured out how to televise the Draft Lottery effectively — it's a quiet, incredibly stilted event that still goes mostly unnoticed next to all of the behind-the-scenes activity — but it went forward at 2:30 PM PST on Tuesday, and the Nationals were announced as the winners of next year's No. 1 pick. They beat out the Rockies, Marlins, and Angels, who all had higher odds of beating them for that coveted first pick.
The rest of the order went as follows:
- Nationals
- Angels
- Mariners
- Rockies
- Cardinals
- Pirates
- Marlins
- Blue Jays
- Reds
- White Sox
- Athletics
- Rangers
- Giants
- Rays
- Red Sox
- Twins
- Cubs
- Diamondbacks
How will the 2025 MLB Draft Lottery affect the Dodgers' pick in 2025?
The Dodgers, as perennial postseason presences, are used to picking at the back of the pack. The last time they chose 18th or higher was 2012, when they selected Corey Seager in the first round. This year, they chose high school shortstop Kellon Lindsey with the 23rd overall pick.
The rest of the order fell in order of postseason teams' elimination in October. The lottery results only affect the Nos. 1-18 teams during the first round, after which time selections will be made in reverse order of winning percentage. Again, this won't affect the Dodgers.
LA doesn't have a fantastic track record when it comes to turning first-round picks into lasting winners since 2012, but Walker Buehler, Gavin Lux, Will Smith, Michael Busch, and Bobby Miller are all former first-rounders. Still, it's hard to feel too pressed about a low spot in the draft when the club is already primed to turn into a dynasty