SAN DIEGO -- The Pirates had the option to go into the room where the amateur draft lottery was going to happen. They chose to wait and get the results live.
And good things come to those who wait.
Major League Baseball held its first draft lottery Tuesday night, and the Pirates hit the jackpot, being awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
The moment we found out!! pic.twitter.com/sf18aKF1lr
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 7, 2022
"Every once in a while, in this business, you get a break against you," Ben Cherington said from his suite at the Manchester Grand Hyatt shortly after the results were announced. "And every once in a while you get a break go for you. We got one tonight."
The teams with the three-worst records in 2022 -- Nationals, Athletics and Pirates -- each had a 16.5% chance at the No. 1 pick. The Pirates could have wound up picking anywhere from first to ninth overall, and they wound up winning the lottery and top pick.
Here's a look at the draft order from the lottery:
MLB
This will be the sixth time the Pirates will have the No. 1 overall pick in franchise history. The other occurrences were:
• 2021: C Henry Davis
• 2011: RHP Gerrit Cole
• 2002: RHP Bryan Bullington
• 1996: RHP Kris Benson
• 1986: SS Jeff King
It's the second time in three years the Pirates will pick first. This past season they picked shortstop Termarr Johnson with the fourth-overall pick. New draft lottery rules prevent teams from having a lottery pick three straight years, but since this is the first year of a lottery system, the 2021 and 2022 drafts do not count against the Pirates' clock.
That first overall pick comes with significantly more bonus pool money to spend, and the ability to be more proactive than reactive in the draft.
"There’s not much of a difference in terms of the evaluation of the players," Cherington said. "There is a little bit the night of the draft because you’re not reacting off of anything else. I think the night of the draft it’s a little bit different, but the process between now and then won’t be any different."
There is no consensus top prospect for next year, with Baseball America putting Louisiana State outfielder Dylan Crews as the top pick in their first mock draft and FanGraphs naming Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez as the top prospect on their board.
