Pittsburgh has the third best chance of landing the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft at 16.81%. Only the Chicago White Sox at 27.73% and the Minnesota Twins at 22.18% have a better shot than them.<\/p>\n
The MLB Draft Lottery is set by the teams with the worst record, with the White Sox and Twins having worse records than the Pirates. <\/p>\n
Two teams that should be ahead of the Pirates didn’t qualify, including the Colorado Rockies, who had the worst record at 43-119, and the Washington Nationals, who had the third worst record at 66-96.<\/p>\n
Colorado received lottery picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts and can’t get a lottery pick for a third consecutive season, since they are a large market team. <\/p>\n
Washington and also the Los Angeles Angels, who had a better record than the Pirates are both “payor clubs”, which are ball clubs that pay into revenue sharing, rather than receive money from it, which makes them ineligble from a lottery pick in consecutive drafts. <\/p>\n
The rest of the teams below the Pirates in the draft lottery include the Baltimore Orioles (9.24%), the Athletics (6.55%), the Atlanta Braves (4.54%), the Tampa Bay Rays (3.03%), the St. Louis Cardinals (2.35%), the Miami Marlins (1.85%), Arizona Diamondbacks (1.51%), Texas Rangers (1.31%), San Francisco Giants (1.01%), Kansas City Royals (0.84%), New York Mets (0.67%) and the Houston Astros (0.34%). <\/p>\n
Pirates History in the Draft Lottery<\/p>\n
The MLB Draft didn’t have a draft lottery until the 2023 MLB Draft, which saw the Pirates win the first ever inaugural draft lottery.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh used that pick and took right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes out of LSU, signing him to a record $9.2 million bonus. That pick worked out well, as Skenes won National League Rookie of the Year in 2024 and then the NL Cy Young Award<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The Pirates didn’t win the draft lottery in 2024, but did take shortstop Konnor Griffin<\/a> with the ninth overall pick out of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Miss. Griffin is the top prospect in baseball and could join the Pirates Opening Day<\/a> Roster for 2026.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh did win the draft lottery in 2025, taking right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez out of Corona Hills High School in Corona, Calif with the sixth overall pick.<\/p>\n Competitive Balance Picks and Rounds Set <\/p>\n The Pirates earned themselves a competitive balance pick for the 2026 MLB Draft, something that’s an annual thing for the franchise. <\/p>\n Competitive Balance picks came into existence after the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agreement and then the 2017-21 Collective Bargaining Agreement amended the process for awarding these picks, using a formula that combines revenue, winning percentage and market score.<\/p>\n The 10 lowest revenue earning clubs from the 10 smallest markets have eligibility for a Competitive Balance pick, with each team earning a pick in either Competitive Balance Round A or Competitive Balance Round B.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh is one of the seven teams in Round A, which takes place after the compensatory picks following the first round and before the second round.<\/p>\n They got the sixth competitive balance pick in Round A, or the 34th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. <\/p>\n Pirates History with Competitive Balance Round Picks<\/p>\n Pirates general manager\u00a0Ben Cherington<\/a>\u00a0has taken a few players in the Competitive Balance rounds during his tenure.<\/p>\n This includes three right-handed pitchers in Competitive Balance Round A in\u00a0Carmen Mlodzinski<\/a>\u00a0out of South Carolina with the 31st pick in 2020,\u00a0Thomas Harrington<\/a>\u00a0out of Campbell with the 36th pick in 2022 and Levi Sterling out of Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles at No. 37 overall in 2024.<\/p>\n Sep 13, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (50) throws during the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images<\/p>\n It also features three players in Competitive Balance Round B, including outfielder Lonnie White Jr. from Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pa. at the 64th pick in 2021, right-handed pitcher Zander Meuth out of Belleville East High School in Belleville, Ill. with the 67th pick in 2023, and third baseman Murf Gray<\/a> with the 73rd overall pick in 2025.<\/p>\n![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01kbg0rjjnjsw5zvv866.jpg\" "\\"Pittsburgh")
<\/p>\n![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/01kbg0qqpzsthm5qh6px.jpg\" "\\"Pittsburgh")
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