Cleveland Guardians win MLB draft lottery, have first overall pick for first time in franchise history

Something pretty incredible happened Tuesday night: The Cleveland Guardians - with a 2% chance to get it - won the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft thanks to some very lucky ping-pong ball combina

It's a pretty great consolation prize when you consider there's very little chance Cleveland does much to increase its payroll this offseason, at least not by offsetting it with a Shane Bieber or Emmanuel Clase trade that will surely demoralize the fan base.

The team is clearly in a pickle when it comes to improving itself for 2024, but now, with the first overall pick in next year's draft, the Guardians have a golden opportunity to enhance their future in a way not thought possible just a couple days ago.

Of the 1,001 different combinations in front of them Tuesday night, the Guardians only had 18 winning combinations that would net them the first pick - the first time it has ever happened in team history. The franchise has selected second overall four times, most recently selecting Paul Shuey second overall in 1992.

How the entire lottery process went down is actually pretty intricate, complicated by the fact that the Washington Nationals - who actually wont the first overall pick in a previous draw - were barred from selecting first due to a CBA provision that prevents a revenue sharing payee from getting lottery picks in back-to-back years.

And aside from that, the math in general just wasn't in Cleveland's favor. Slotted to pick tenth, the Guardians got the combination they needed to move up to the coveted top pick. In other words, the Guardians needed a ton of luck to make this happen, and they got it.

Now their attention turns to what franchise-altering player they can select in next summer's draft.