White Sox win MLB draft lottery and
have top pick for first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977
[December 10, 2025]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Chicago White Sox won Major League
Baseball's amateur draft lottery Tuesday and will have the top
selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.
Coming off a 102-loss season, Chicago had the highest odds to win
the weighted lottery at 27.73%. The White Sox will have the No. 1
selection for the third time when the draft starts on July 11 in
Philadelphia ahead of the All-Star Game.
Baines became a six-time All-Star and was inducted into the Hall of
Fame in 2019. Chicago selected first baseman Danny Goodwin with the
top pick in 1971, and he played in parts of seven major league
seasons.
Baines represented the White Sox on stage for the lottery at
baseball's winter meetings.
“I'm still learning more and more about the draft. I'm getting
familiar with some of the top names,” White Sox general manager
Chris Getz said in an interview on MLB Network. "It looks like, at
the top of the draft, that it's a really impressive one.
“But on top of that, when you look at the pool space that you're
given and a chance to really walk away from a draft class and do
some damage, bring in some real talent. ... I'm just excited for our
fan base and the people that are working for the Chicago White Sox.”
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is currently projected as the top
selection, followed by Fort Worth Christian High School shortstop
Grady Emerson.
Tampa Bay will pick second, followed by Minnesota, San Francisco,
Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore, the Athletics, Atlanta and
Colorado.
MLB and the players' association established the lottery in the
March 2022 collective bargaining agreement. The union pushed for the
innovation to encourage teams to compete for wins rather than trade
off players at the deadline in an attempt to get a higher draft
choice.
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Greg Amsinger, MLB Network host, announces that the Chicago White
Sox will have the number one pick in draft during a broadcast at the
Major League Baseball's winter meetings, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in
Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Pittsburgh won the lottery the first year and chose
right-hander Paul Skenes, the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year and 2025 NL
Cy Young Award winner. Cleveland went first in 2024 and selected
second baseman Travis Bazzana and Washington picked shortstop Eli
Willits this July.
Colorado, the Los Angeles Angels and Washington
were not eligible for this lottery. The Rockies, a big league-worst
43-119. were excluded because a team can't receive a lottery pick in
three consecutive years. The Angels and Nationals were blocked
because teams that receive revenue sharing money can't get a lottery
pick in two straight years.
After the White Sox, Minnesota had the second-highest odds of the
top pick at 22.18%, followed by Pittsburgh (16.81%), Baltimore
(9.24%) and the Athletics (6.55%).
The New York Mets, the second-biggest spenders this year behind the
Los Angeles Dodgers, had a 0.67% chance and will wind up drafting
27th after missing the playoffs.
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