The Kansas City Royals secured the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft lottery on Tuesday night at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, despite entering with the 13th-best odds of 0.84 percent. The Chicago White Sox won the top selection according to their 27.73 percent odds, marking their first No. 1 pick since 1977. Other notable jumps included the Tampa Bay Rays landing No. 2 and the San Francisco Giants at No. 4.
The 2026 MLB Draft lottery, held during the Winter Meetings, determined the order for the top six picks in the upcoming draft scheduled for July 11-12 in Philadelphia. For the first time in the lottery era, the White Sox, who had the best odds, drew the No. 1 selection. Their general manager, Chris Getz, expressed excitement to MLB Network, stating, “It’s an opportunity to boost what we have going on right now. It’s an honor, it’s a huge responsibility. I’m just so happy for everyone.”
The White Sox last had the top pick nearly 50 years ago, when they selected Hall of Famer Harold Baines. UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky leads MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects list and is considered the consensus No. 1 target.
The Royals' leap from the 13th position provided a major boost. General manager J.J. Picollo called it “awesome” and “exciting,” noting, “We had less than a one percent chance of getting the first pick, we probably should have been closer to 16, so to get the sixth pick, you feel like there’s a little vindication. We dropped in previous years... To hit a year where we had good fortune, that’s exciting for us.” This marks a rare high pick for Kansas City, which has faced disappointments in prior lotteries.
The full top six order is:
- 1. Chicago White Sox (1st odds, 27.7%)
- 2. Tampa Bay Rays (7th odds, 3.03%)
- 3. Minnesota Twins (2nd odds, 22.2%)
- 4. San Francisco Giants (12th odds, 1.0%)
- 5. Pittsburgh Pirates (3rd odds, 16.8%)
- 6. Kansas City Royals (13th odds, 0.8%)
Rays president Erik Neander highlighted their sustained success but welcomed the access to top talent, while Giants vice president Randy Winn noted the excitement of picking early after a long absence from high selections. Teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics, with strong non-lottery odds, fell to Nos. 7 and 8. Ineligible teams included the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels due to prior lottery picks or revenue-sharing status.
