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MLB Draft Lottery, explained: Why the White Sox are picking 10th after setting loss record

Despite the sport's payroll discrepancies, parity is an important part of Major League Baseball. There hasn't been a repeat champion since the turn of the millennium. That's a feature, not a bug. Luxury tax penalties attempt to keep spending in check, teams have six years to build around young stars, and organizations are rewarded for losing expensive free agents.

This extends to the MLB Draft, where the worst teams in the league are equipped with the picks and bonus pools to acquire top prospects.

However, beginning in 2023, the Collective Bargaining Agreement implemented the MLB Draft Lottery, adding uncertainty to the event and encouraging teams to compete. During the 2025 MLB Draft, which begins on Sunday, no team will suffer more from the Lottery than the Chicago White Sox.

How does the MLB Draft Lottery work?

The Lottery determines who will make the first six picks in the first round. All 18 non-playoff teams are initially eligible, with the three worst teams in the league, by record, sharing the same 16.5% chance at the No. 1 pick. This looks to discourage tanking by ensuring teams aren't guaranteed the class's top prospect by having the fewest wins.

Next, teams that would have picked from fourth to 18th before the Lottery each have a decreasing chance at picking first.

Three other rules shape the Lottery.

Teams paying into the league's revenue-sharing program cannot have lottery picks in back-to-back seasons
Teams receiving revenue sharing cannot receive a top-six pick in three consecutive seasons
Teams that fall into either category cannot pick higher than No. 10

That's where the White Sox, fresh off setting the modern-era loss record (41-121), come in. Because Chicago pays into revenue sharing and had a Lottery pick in 2024, taking pitcher Hagen Smith at No. 5, it was ineligible to receive one in 2025.

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Instead, the White Sox will make the 10th selection on Sunday. That comes with the 14th-biggest draft pool, per Baseball America. Each slot carries a pre-determined value, and the sum of them creates a team's pool. Teams with more money to spend can lure higher-caliber prospects down the board with promises of a lucrative bonus, so losing out on the first pick has real ramifications.

The Athletics suffered a similar penalty after having two top-six selections in 2023 and 2024 while receiving revenue-sharing payments. They will pick 11th on Sunday.

Since those two teams were ruled ineligible, the aforementioned odds were adjusted, giving each of the remaining 16 teams a slightly better chance at ecstasy.

Chicago will have its rightful first pick in the other 19 rounds.

Instead of the White Sox, the Washington Nationals (and interim general manager Mike DeBartolo) will have the No. 1 pick, followed by the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Fans can watch the first three rounds of the 2025 MLB Draft on ESPN and MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET.