The MLB Lottery happened this evening down in Florida at the sight of the Winter Meetings. While a lot of the focus and attention has been on the movement, signings, and trades happening the Lottery is perhaps
just as important if not more so to some teams in the league, one of those being the A’s.
We now know where in the draft the A’s will be selecting and it’ll be the 8th overall pick in the 2026 Draft. The A’s came into tonight with the 5th-best odds to land the top pick but at just 6.5% it wasn’t an especially likely outcome. And now the A’s will for the third year in a row see their draft position in a worse spot than expected coming into tonight. Rough.
The organization has had some really tough luck in recent years with the Lottery. The A’s lost 112 games in 2023 and were tied with two other teams for the highest odds to get the first overall pick (which ended up being Pirates phenom Paul Skenes) only to fall all the way to 6th (though we did get to select All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson). Then the same thing happened the next year after losing 93 contests. The A’s were tied for the highest odds to get the first overall pick (which ended up being second base prospect Travis Bazzana to Cleveland) but instead ‘lost’ the lottery and only got the 4th overall pick. Can’t complain too much with how it worked out though; that pick was our recent Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz. The A’s will now hope to pull off three straight successful first round picks after getting a tough draw in the lottery.
Some of the top prospects in this year’s crop of prospects include a couple of college shortstops expected to go 1-2, followed by a few well-regarded outfielders from the college ranks as well. This year’s draft is much more well-regarded by baseball people than last year’s class, especially on the position player side. There are a few interesting arms as well but it’s a class known for its position player pool.
So now that we know where the A’s will be selecting, it’s time to start thinking about who the team will call next year. Who do you want the team taking? Any favorites of yours in this year’s crop? Comment below!
