The Texas Rangers still have a chance to claim something good from that lost 2022 season — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.
How? MLB’s First Draft Lotterywhich will be held later this year during the Winter Meetings.
MLB is implementing a coin toss system for the first time to define the top six draft selections.
The Rangers finished with a 68-94 record, tied for seventh in baseball. But thanks to a tiebreaker with the Colorado Rockies, the Rangers have the seventh-best odds to clinch the pick.
Teams with the three worst records in 2022 — the Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s and Pittsburgh Pirates — have the best odds (16.5% each) of getting the No. 1 overall pick via the lottery.
The Rangers? Well, they have a 5.5% chance of landing that No. 1 overall selection.
Aside from the Nationals, A’s and Pirates, only the Cincinnati Reds (13.5%), Kansas City Royals (10%) and Detroit Tigers (7.5%) have better odds than the Rangers.
If Rangers end up with a Top 10 selection, it will be their third in the last five drafts.
In 2019, the Rangers selected third baseman Josh Jung from Texas Tech 8th overall. He made his Major League debut in September. Rangers took Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter No. 2 overall in 2021. Leiter just completed his first professional season with the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. Rangers took Leiter’s former college teammate Kumar Rocker to third overall. He pitches in the Arizona Fall League.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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