Pirates 'incredibly excited, honored' to win inaugural lottery for No. 1 overall pick in 2023 MLB Draft

With the MLB Draft order decided by lottery for the first time, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called Joe DelliCarri “the luckiest guy in the Pirates organization” and chose the scouting director to serve as as their good luck charm.

It worked, as the Pirates won the No. 1 overall selection in July 2023.

“We’re incredibly excited, honored to be in this position in the first draft lottery,” Cherington told MLB Network at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. “Obviously, young players are such an important part of our future and (we are) excited to get a chance to make the first selection next year.”

It marks the second time in three years and sixth time in franchise history that the Pirates will make the top pick. They chose Louisville catcher Henry Davis first overall in 2021, UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole in 2011, Ball State pitcher Bryan Bullington in 2002, Clemson pitcher Kris Benson in 1996 and Arkansas infielder Jeff King in 1986.

“When you’re picking up high in the draft – and we know it’s really important, whether it’s (No.) 1 or 3 or 5 – we’ve got to get those picks right and bring good players in,” Cherington said. “I don’t feel like it’s more pressure. We’ve had practice with it, obviously, recently. I anticipate and certainly hope we will not be sitting in this seat in future years. I hope not. But we’re going to take advantage of this one.”

Baseball America early 2023 Draft rankings:
1. Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
2. Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
3. Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
4. Jacob Wilson*, SS, Grand Canyon
5. Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss

* Son of former Pirates SS Jack Wilson

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) December 7, 2022

The Pirates, Oakland A’s and Washington Nationals all had the best chance of winning the lottery, at 16.5% odds. The Pirates could have drafted as high as No. 1 overall or as low as ninth but were guaranteed a fourth consecutive top-10 pick and fifth in the past six drafts.

The Nationals received the No. 2 pick, followed by the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins while the A’s slipped to No. 6.

The Cincinnati Reds got the seventh pick, followed by the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.

The moment we found out!! pic.twitter.com/sf18aKF1lr

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 7, 2022

Cherington called the lottery “exciting for the game” but said that it doesn’t change the way the baseball operations staff prepares. Under Cherington, the Pirates took New Mexico State middle infielder Nick Gonzales at No. 7 overall in 2020, Davis first overall in 2021 and Georgia prep shortstop Termarr Johnson at fourth overall in July. Former general manager Neal Huntington selected South Alabama outfielder Travis Swaggerty 10th overall in 2018.

“I don’t think so because that group of players at the top of the draft we’re going to be spending a lot of time on anyway,” Cherington said prior to the lottery. “Whether you’re picking first or fifth or 10th, it’s not going to change our process. I would anticipate it wouldn’t for other teams, too. The draft is important for the Pirates.”

All 18 teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs were eligible. The top six selections are decided by lottery, with the next 12 picks set by reverse order of the regular-season standings.

The Reds slipped out of top six spots despite being tied with the Pirates for the fourth-worst record in baseball. They finished with identical 62-100 records, but the Pirates were slotted ahead of the Reds because of their 2021 finish: The Pirates went 61-101, while the Reds were 83-79.

The Reds had a 13.2% chance of winning, followed by the Royals at 10%, Tigers (7.5%), Rangers (5.5%), Rockies (3.9%), Marlins (2.7%), Angels (1.85%), Diamondbacks (1.4%), Cubs (1.1%), Twins (0.9%), Boston Red Sox (0.8%), the Chicago White Sox (0.6%), San Francisco Giants (0.5%), Baltimore Orioles (0.4%) and Milwaukee Brewers (0.2%).

The draft lottery was negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement between MLB owners and the players association last March to prevent teams from tanking for the top pick.

Cherington joked that DelliCarri had a rabbit’s foot in the pocket of the Pirates vest he wore on the dais.

“Joe is the greatest scouting director in baseball tonight,” Cherington said, “and he will be next July, too.”