SF Giants draw unlucky No. 13 in MLB draft lottery

The Giants had miniscule odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the draft, but their draft position was pushed down two spots by the good fortunes of the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners

In the third year of the MLB Draft Lottery, the San Francisco Giants had a chance to move up from their 11th position. Instead, they dropped back to No. 13 as the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners leapfrogged them into the top six picks.

The Washington Nationals, who had a 10.2% chance of getting the top pick, will select first in next June’s draft, followed by the Los Angeles Angels (17.96%) and the Mariners (0.53%). Baseball drafts for the first six picks, most in any sport, and the top six was rounded out by the Colorado Rockies (22.45%), Cardinals (0.82%), and Pittsburgh Pirates (5.31%).

Due to the Chicaco White Sox’s status as a team that pays into revenue sharing, they were ineligible for the lottery because the picked fifth last year, despite losing a record 121 games last season. The Oakland Sacramento Athletics were also ineligible for the lottery as a revenue-receiving team, since they couldn’t be in three consecutive lotteries. Those teams picked 10th and 11th.

So the Giants slide two spots, into a familiar spot. They drafted outfielder James Tibbs last season at No. 13, and in 2020, they picked up Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey. Those are the only two times since 1965 that the Giants have drafted in that spot.

The baseball draft is unique among professional sports because of the high importance of signability, as well as how teams want to allocate their pool of bonus money. The 13th pick isn’t always the 13th-best player; it’s the player that fits best with a team’s overall draft strategy. There’s no Mel Kiper Jr. of baseball, for a good reason.

But Buster Posey did not luck out in his first draft in charge of the club. The baseball gods are not yet smiling on Oracle Park.