Angels set up for disappointing MLB Draft lottery due to this one rule

There is a lot going around in the world of Angels baseball and MLB at large this week. Winter Meetings are off and running in Orlando, Florida with the Angels waiting in the wings and missing out on a quality starter who signed on Monday as well as two stars signed on Tuesday. The Rule 5 Draft is coming up on Wednesday, and the Angels have a chance to land a legit contributor courtesy of the Boston Red Sox. Jeff Kent just got elected to the Hall of Fame (while Barry Bonds did not) thanks to the contemporary baseball era committee. And on Tuesday night, the MLB Draft lottery is taking center stage as teams pray for the chance to pick No. 1 and land consensus top prospect Roch Cholowsky.

This time last year was one of the best moments of the offseason for the Angels, as they jumped up a spot to earn the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. They did not have the outrageous luck that the Washington Nationals did, jumping to the top spot after having the fourth best odds, but moved up nevertheless. This year, however, Angels fans cannot expect the same excitement. 

Despite finishing with the sixth worst winning percentage in baseball, the Angels have absolutely zero chance at landing the top selection in the draft this season. And it only gets worse from there. 

Angels set up for disappointing MLB Draft lottery

After jumping up to No. 2 in 2025 and selecting right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner out of the University of California-Santa Barbara, the Angels won’t have any option but to fall below the sixth pick that their record should be attached to. When the MLB Draft turned to a lottery, there were a lot of rules put in place to stop teams from long-term tanks. The Angels - despite their efforts - have been a losing team for nearly a decade straight. And after jumping up in the lottery last season, the Angels’ status as a payor club prevented them from taking part in it again this season. 

In the MLB’s revenue sharing policy, “payor” teams are ones that share revenue with smaller market organizations. Joe Trezza of MLB.com explains how this effects the Angels (and Nationals), writing, “The Nationals and Angels are “payor clubs” -- teams that give rather than receive revenue sharing dollars -- and payors cannot receive a lottery pick in consecutive years. Furthermore, non-playoff teams that are ineligible for the lottery may not receive better than the 10th overall pick, so the Rockies, Nationals and Angels will draft 10th, 11th and 12th in 2026, respectively.” The Rockies are grouped in due to the rule stating teams cannot be in the lottery three straight seasons. 

So despite their losing ways in 2025, the Angels and their fans have no chance of draft luck hitting them again. The team will have the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft next year. Fortunately, the team will pick at the sixth spot in every other round of the draft as the payor rule only applies to the first round lottery.