Minnesota Twins make big move in inaugural MLB Draft Lottery

The first ever MLB Draft Lottery was held Tuesday night and it was a home run for the Minnesota Twins, who rocketed up the draft board by landing the fifth pick in the 2023 draft. 

The Twins finished 78-84 last season, tied with the Red Sox for the 13th-worst record in the majors. That would normally be no-man’s land in the lottery; bad enough to miss the playoffs, not bad enough to have a legit shot at winning a top pick. 

Minnesota could’ve picked anywhere from 1-6 or 13-17, though there was a 71.9% chance they would stay put at No. 13. They had just a 1.7% chance of getting No. 5, and that not-even-two-in-100 shot was a swish. 

Here were Minnesota’s pick-by-pick odds in the lottery: 

1. 0.9%
2. 1.0%
3. 1.2%
4. 1.4%
5. 1.7%
6. 2.0%
7. 0%
8. 0%
9. 0%
10. 0%
11. 0%
12. 0%
13. 71.9%
14. 18.7%
15. 1.2%
16. >0.0%
17. >0.0%
18. 0%

The 2023 MLB Draft will be held next July in Seattle as part of the All-Star festivities. 

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