Baltimore Orioles secure first overall pick in 2022 MLB draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Baltimore Orioles will pick first in the MLB draft for the second time in four years.
Baltimore secured the top spot in the 2022 MLB Draft order on the final day of the baseball season by losing 12-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Orioles were in a race for the No. 1 overall pick with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and both teams wound up at an identical 52-110 overall — good for the worst record in Major League Baseball.
Thanks to the Diamondbacks winning 5-4 over the Colorado Rockies in their final game of the 2021 MLB season, Baltimore was able to win the right to pick first overall in 2022 based on MLB rules that state that if two teams finish in a tie for worst record, then the top draft slot is determined by who had the worse record the previous year.
Baltimore and Arizona finished 25-35 in 2020, triggering a look into the 2019 standings, where the Orioles finished with the second-worst record in Major League Baseball and the Diamondbacks were over .500 on the season.
Fortunately, that was the only tie complicating the final 2021 baseball standings. Rounding out the top five of the 2022 MLB Draft order after Baltimore and Arizona are the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals.
Here’s the order for the 2022 MLB Draft:
1. Baltimore Orioles (52-110)2. Arizona Diamondbacks (52-110)3. Texas Rangers (60-102)4. Pittsburgh Pirates (61-101)5. Washington Nationals (65-97)6. Miami Marlins (67-95)7. Chicago Cubs (71-91)8. Minnesota Twins (73-89)9. Kansas City Royals (74-88)10. Colorado Rockies (74-87)11. New York Mets (compensation for not signing Kumar Rocker)12. Detroit Tigers (77-85)13. Los Angeles Angels (77-85)14. New York Mets (77-85)15. San Diego Padres (79-83)16. Cleveland Guardians (80-82)17. Philadelphia Phillies (82-80)18. Cincinnati Reds (83-79)19. Oakland A’s (86-76)20. Atlanta Braves (88-73)21. Seattle Mariners (90-72)22. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72)23. Toronto Blue Jays (91-71)24. Boston Red Sox (92-70)25. New York Yankees (92-70)26. Chicago White Sox (93-69)27. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67)28. Houston Astros (95-67)29. Tampa Bay Rays (100-62)30. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56)31. San Francisco Giants (107-55)