Competitive Balance Lottery pays out 12 Draft picks
Reds get first selection of Round A, followed by A's, Rockies, D-backs, Marlins and Pirates
Two portions of Major League Baseball's 2016 First-Year Player Draft were set Wednesday when the Competitive Balance Lottery was held at the Commissioner's Office in New York.
The Reds, A's, Rockies, D-backs, Marlins and Pirates will receive the six picks in Competitive Balance Round A, which follows the Draft's first round. The Padres, Indians, Twins, Brewers, Orioles and Rays will receive the six picks in Competitive Balance Round B, which comes after the second round.
The Reds had the third-highest probability of receiving the first pick in Round A, at 9.5%. The D-backs had the best odds (18.2%), followed by the Rockies at 16.5%.
Introduced when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement began in December 2011, the Competitive Balance Lottery gives teams that have either one of the 10 smallest markets or 10 smallest revenue pools one of six additional choices after each of the first and second rounds. Additionally, any other clubs that receive revenue-sharing funds are eligible for the supplemental second-round selections.
Twelve teams were eligible to win a pick in Round A this year: the D-backs, Rockies, Reds, Marlins, Padres, Rays, Brewers, Indians, A's, Pirates, Royals and Cardinals. The six clubs that did not win a selection in Round A (the Padres, Indians, Twins, Brewers, Orioles and Rays), along with the three clubs who received revenue-sharing funds this year (the Orioles, Twins and Mariners) were eligible for a Round B pick. The Cardinals, Royals and Mariners were the three teams that were eligible but did not receive a pick.
As the first three Drafts held under the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement have shown, the Competitive Balance picks take on added importance under the revised Draft rules, which assign bonus pools for each club to cover the first 10 rounds and impose the loss of future Draft picks if the allotments are exceeded by more than 5 percent.
In 2015, picks in Competitive Balance Round A added an average of $1,566,617 to each team's pool. The Competitive Balance Round B picks augmented each club's pool by an average $839,940.
The Competitive Balance Round picks are the only Draft selections permitted to be traded, subject to some restrictions. Each lottery pick can be traded only once and cash can't be involved in the transaction. The choices can be dealt only during the regular season, up until 5 p.m. ET on the first day of the Draft.
Two Competitive Round picks from 2013 have already made the Majors: Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen (No. 38 overall) and Brewers righty Corey Knebel (No. 39), who was selected by the Tigers.