The draft order is determined at the beginning of each season.
It applies to both the amateur draft and the end-of-year draft.
More about the amateur draft.
More about the end-of-year draft.
There are two determining factors for the draft order.
Team win-loss records from the prior season are the primary way the draft order is determined, whereby the worst win-loss record gets the first pick of each round, and the best record gets the last pick of each round (30th pick).
However, those teams which make the post-season are automatically at the bottom of the draft order, based on their post-season record. In this scenario, the World-Series winner will always get the 30th (last) pick of each round.
As a result, it is possible a team with a higher win-loss record still drafts ahead of a lower win-loss record based on post-season results.
Example:
| Team | Lg / Div | W-L | Post-Season | Draft Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | American-Central | 90-72 | Wildcard, WS Champs | 30th |
| Team B | National-East | 101-61 | Div Champs, NL Champs, WS Loser | 29th |
| Team C | National-Central | 91-71 | Div Champs, NL Loser | 28th |
| ... | ||||
| Team I | National-West | 98-64 | Did Not Qualify | 22nd |