MLB Competitive Balance Lottery gives Rockies top sandwich pick in 2014 draft

Here’s the full list how the two lottery rounds played out:

How the sandwich picks work is pretty straightforward: Comp A selections will take place between the first and second rounds, while Comp B will happen between the second and third. Where things get complicated is how the eligible teams are chosen and what they can do once they get their picks.

The lottery is comprised of the 10 lowest-revenue and the 10 smallest-market teams in the league. Because there is some crossover between these two groups, there were only 14 teams eligible for the lottery this year. The odds of a team getting the top pick in the lottery is determined by its winning percentage in the season prior. Since the Rockies had the lowest winning percentage among the eligible teams, they had the best shot of getting the top pick.

Now that the picks have been awarded, teams are allowed to to trade them at their heart’s content, which could potentially give playoff contenders like the Orioles, D-Backs, Indians, etc. a leg up in trade talks as we near the July 31 deadline. Two picks were dealt last year following the inaugural lottery.

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