2025 MLB Draft order, lottery results: Nationals land No. 1 pick, Mets, Dodgers, Yankees all penalized

The Washington Nationals were awarded the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s 2025 amateur draft on Tuesday after winning the league’s third Draft Lottery at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. The team holds the No. 1 pick for the first time since 2010, when they drafted future MVP Bryce Harper first overall.

MLB and the MLBPA agreed to the lottery as part of the current collective bargaining agreement in an effort to curb tanking and anti-competitive behavior in general. The top six picks are now awarded through the lottery with some restrictions in place on how many consecutive years teams are allowed to partake. On that note, both the Chicago White Sox and Athletics were ineligible for the lottery. The White Sox, a revenue-sharing payor, were in the lottery last year; the Athletics, a revenue-sharing recipient, had been part of the previous two lotteries.

The Guardians won the Draft Lottery last offseason and received the No. 1 pick despite finishing with the league’s ninth-worst record. Cleveland took Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 selection. The Pirates took Paul Skenes out of LSU in 2023 after winning the first ever Draft Lottery.

Here is the complete draft order for the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft. The top six selections were determined by the lottery, and each team has its chances of winning the No. 1 pick in parentheses. 

Previously, the draft order was set by the reverse order of the previous year’s standings. It was nice and easy. Now the top six picks are determined through the lottery, the remaining 12 non-postseason teams then pick in reverse order of the standings (picks 7-18), and the 12 postseason teams pick in order of their finish (picks 19-30). 

2025 MLB Draft order: First round

1. Nationals (10.2% odds)
2. Angels (17.96% odds)
3. Mariners (0.53% odds)
4. Rockies (22.5% odds)
5. Cardinals (0.82% odds)
6. Pirates (5.3% odds)
7. Marlins
8. Blue Jays
9. Reds
10. Sox
11. A’s
12. Rangers
13. Giants
14. Rays
15. Red Sox
16. Twins
17. Cubs
18. Diamondbacks
19. Orioles 
20. Brewers
21. Astros
22. Braves
23. Royals 
24. Tigers 
25. Padres
26. Phillies 
27. Guardians 

The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees will each have their first-round pick moved back 10 spots because of their competitive balance tax (CBT) status. Teams that exceed the third CBT threshold ($277 million in 2024) have their first rounder pushed back 10 spots, so the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers will go from Nos. 28, 29, and 30 to Nos. 38, 39, and 40, respectively. Other picks will be moved up accordingly.

The Nationals previously had the No. 1 pick in 2009 and 2010, when they selected Stephen Strasburg and Harper. Here are five names to know who could go No. 1 next summer, including Ethan Holliday, the younger brother of Orioles infielder Jackson Hollday.

The Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees will each have their first-round pick moved back 10 spots because of their competitive balance tax (CBT) status. Teams that exceed the third CBT threshold ($277 million in 2024) have their first rounder pushed back 10 spots, so the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers will go from Nos. 28, 29, and 30 to Nos. 38, 39, and 40, respectively. Other picks will be moved up accordingly.

Only the first round is set using the lottery. The order of rounds 2-20 is the reverse order of this year’s standings, so the MLB-worst White Sox will have the first pick of the second round regardless of how the lottery shakes out. There are also free-agent compensation and competitive balance round picks scattered throughout the draft. Those additional picks will be determined throughout the offseason. Tuesday’s lottery set the first-round order. Everything after that is TBD as the offseason plays out.