This event a central focus for A's at Winter Meetings

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos' A's Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

As the A’s front office contingent arrives in San Diego next week for the Winter Meetings, one event in particular figures to be the central focus of the week for the club.

Beyond the usual engagement of trade and free agency talks, A’s executives will be on edge as they await the club’s fate during the inaugural MLB Draft Lottery, which takes place on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PT on MLB Network.

Resulting from the newest Collective Bargaining Agreement is a shift from the traditional MLB Draft order, which was determined solely by records from the previous season, in favor of a lottery system. Because the A’s finished with one of the three worst records at 60-102 in 2022, they are tied with the Nationals and Pirates for the chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. Under the new format, however, all 18 non-playoff teams from last season have a chance to get the top pick.

Here’s a look at the odds to receive the No. 1 pick for each team participating in the lottery:

1. Nationals (55-107), 16.5%
2. A’s (60-102), 16.5%
3. Pirates (62-100), 16.5%
4. Reds (62-100), 13.2%
5. Royals (65-97), 10.0%
6. Tigers (66-96), 7.5%
7. Rangers (68-94), 5.5%
8. Rockies (68-94), 3.9%
9. Marlins (69-93), 2.7%
10. Angels (73-89), 1.8%
11. D-backs (74-88), 1.4%
12. Cubs (74-88), 1.1%
13. Twins (78-84), 0.9%
14. Red Sox (78-84), 0.8%
15. White Sox (81-81), 0.6%
16. Giants (81-81), 0.5%
17. Orioles (83-79), 0.4%
18. Brewers (86-76), 0.2%

The lottery will be used to determine the first six picks of the 2023 MLB Draft. After that, picks No. 7-18 will be assigned based on reverse order of standings.

The last time the A’s held a top-three pick was 1998, when they selected left-hander and future Big Three member Mark Mulder second overall. Only once have the A’s held the No. 1 pick, taking outfielder Rick Monday first overall in what was the inaugural MLB Draft back in 1965.

Who could the A’s select with a top pick? Draft boards will fluctuate once the college and high school baseball seasons get underway in the next few months. For an early look, MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo recently put together an Inbox highlighting who he projects as likely top three picks in next year’s Draft:

1. Dylan Crews, OF, Louisiana State: Crews had a 1.153 OPS at LSU last year and has the chance to hit with a ton of power.

2. Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee: Dollander transferred from Georgia Southern to Tennessee and was dominant in 2022, with a four-pitch mix that could land him atop the Draft.

3. Max Clark, OF, Franklin (Ind.) Community HS: Clark has the best all-around tools in the class, and while his summer showcase performances were a little up and down, he showed off all of his tools, plus his baseball IQ, throughout.

A list of a few other names to keep in mind includes: Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford and Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson.