After whiffing on the top picks in the NBA, NHL and NFL drafts earlier this year, there was plenty of pressure on sportsbooks to avoid going 0-4 when the MLB Draft rolled around on Sunday.
This, of course, presented its own problem because baseball’s draft is the least straightforward of the four major North American sports. Rarely will MLB teams with the No. 1 pick select the top overall prospect. Not if they can get a player to sign under slot value to help spread their bonus pool money out.
So despite being the the consensus top player in this year’s class, Druw Jones was not selected No. 1 overall by the Baltimore Orioles. Jackson Holliday (+900) was.
And neither bettors nor sportsbooks really saw it coming.
The moment Jackson Holliday became the No. 1 pick. #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/eu24Lj9u67
— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2022
