It's officially the offeseason, which means every team in baseball is starting to look ahead to what the future might hold.
For the Minnesota Twins, the offseason arrived later than usual. The Twins ripped off their most impressive postseason run since 2002, both ending the miserable 18-game losing streak and winning a playoff series for the first time since Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were still dating.
It had been a while.
Minnesota's run in October has given fans hope that this winter will be spent putting the right pieces in place to ensure an even deeper run next fall. For the first time in a very long time, the Twins have legitimate World Series aspirations and need to nail this offseason to keep things on track.
That's a mission that got harder with news the payroll is shrinking, but there's plenty of time to wallow about that.
Lost in the sauce a bit is the MLB Draft Lottery. Between the hot stove heating up and teams looking at free agency -- and how long it takes for prospects to work their way up -- the MLB Draft sometimes get placed on the back burner.
It'll be the second year of the new MLB Draft Lottery system, though, but all hopeful eyes remain on what happened with the Twins last year.
What are the Twins' 2024 MLB Draft Lottery odds?
Here's a look at the MLB Draft Lottery odds now that everything is locked in:
Team | Odds |
|---|---|
A's | 18.3% |
Royals | 18.3% |
Rockies | 18.3% |
White Sox | 14.7% |
Cardinals | 8.3% |
Angels | 6.1 |
Mets | 4.3% |
Pirates | 3% |
Guardians | 2% |
Tigers | 1.6% |
Red Sox | 1.2% |
Giants | 1% |
Reds | 0.9% |
Padres | 0.7% |
Yankees | 0.6% |
Cubs | 0.4% |
Mariners | 0.2% |
Because the Twins made the playoffs this year, they won't be eligible for the MLB Draft Lottery. Teams in this year's lottery will be trying to channel some Twins magic, though, as last year Minnesota watched the balls bounce in its favor by landing the No. 5 overall pick.
Some of those odds might look daunting, but the Twins had a 0.9 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick and ended up in the Top 5. Cincinnati has the same exact odds as Minnesota last year, but the luck Minnesota had should give at least mild hope to teams like the Yankees, Cubs and Mariners who have slim odds but can't rule a miracle out.
Minnesota will have the No. 23 pick in the draft, as non-lottery order is determined by when teams lost in the postseason. That means while the Diamondbacks had one of the lowest records among playoff teams, they'll pick No. 29 after losing in the World Series.
When is the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery?
Just like the NBA and NHL Draft Lottery, the MLB will be airing its selection process this year on MLB Network. It's always weirdly exciting to see how things stack up, especially with how the order was so drastically altered last season.
Here's when and where to catch the MLB Draft Lottery:
- Date: December 5th
- Time: 7pm ET
- TV Channel: MLB Network
- Live Stream: Fubo.TV
Will another team make a massive leap up the draft board? Minnesota landed Walker Jenkins -- a player some thought could have been the No. 1 overall pick -- despite having the 13th-best odds among non-playoff teams. That's something teams will be hoping to replicate this year, although two years in a row of teams jumping up the order would certainly be something else.