'20 Draft order set: Here's where each club picks
For the second time in three years, the Tigers own the No. 1 pick in the Draft. After taking right-hander Casey Mize with the first selection in 2018, Detroit is on the clock for 2020.
Detroit lost a Major League-high 114 games, the second-most in the franchise's 119-season history, to secure the No. 1 choice next year. The Orioles, who earned the top selection in 2019 (catcher Adley Rutschman) by losing 115 games games in 2018, will pick second next June after improving to 54-108. The Draft order is based on the reverse order of the regular-season standings, with the previous year's records used to break ties.
The Marlins (No. 3), Royals (No. 4) and Blue Jays (No. 5) round out the remainder of the first five picks. Like Detroit and Baltimore, Miami and Kansas City also had top-five choices in 2019 -- the Royals grabbed shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. at No. 2, the Marlins opted for outfielder JJ Bleday at No. 4 and the Tigers popped outfielder Riley Greene at No. 5.
Toronto hasn't made a selection that early since taking Vernon Wells at No. 5 in 1997.
Eight months before the Draft, the leading candidates to go No. 1 overall are all collegians: Georgia right-hander Emerson Hancock and Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson, with Vanderbilt third baseman Austin Martin close behind. MLB Pipeline broke down the top 15 prospects in both the college and high school ranks back in August.
Each pick in the top 10 rounds is assigned a bonus value, with the total for each club's selections representing the amount it can spend in those rounds without incurring a penalty. The values rise each year based on MLB's revenue growth, so the Tigers will get allocated more than the $8,415,300 that came with the No. 1 choice in 2019. The Orioles paid Rutschman $8.1 million, breaking the previous Draft record set in 2011 when the Pirates gave No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole $8 million.
Because each team's highest first-round pick is exempt from forfeiture, the only way the first-round order below could change would be if a club exceeds the luxury-tax threshold ($206 million) by more than $40 million, in which case its selection would drop 10 spots. This happened to the Red Sox in the 2019 Draft, with their top choice moving from No. 33 overall in the first round to No. 43 overall in the second round.
2020 First-Round Draft Order
1) Tigers (47-114)
2) Orioles (54-108)
3) Marlins (57-105)
4) Royals (59-103)
5) Blue Jays (67-95)
6) Mariners (68-94)
7) Pirates (69-93)
8) Padres (70-92)
9) Rockies (71-91)
10) Angels (72-90)
11) White Sox (72-89)
12) Reds (75-87)
13) Giants (77-85)
14) Rangers (78-84)
15) Phillies (81-81)
16) Cubs (84-78)
17) Red Sox (84-78)
18) D-backs (85-77)
19) Mets (86-76)
20) Brewers (89-73)
21) Cardinals (91-71)
22) Nationals (93-69)
23) Indians (93-69)
24) Rays (96-66)
25) Braves (97-65)
26) A's (97-65)
27) Twins (101-61)
28) Yankees (103-59)
29) Dodgers (106-56)
30) Astros (107-55)