By virtue of them holding the best record in baseball and earning the top seed in the National League for the 2025 postseason, the Milwaukee Brewers were excluded from the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery. However, when the teams who didn't qualify for last year's postseason gathered to decide who would earn the top overall pick in next year’s draft, Brewers fans still had something to root for, seeing as two of their division rivals had a stake in the outcome of the drawing.
Entering the draft lottery on Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a 16.8% chance of earning the top overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft -- the third highest odds of any team after the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles Angels were excluded due to various draft restrictions that deemed them ineligible for a lottery pick.