Missing out on the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft isn't the worst, but it's not good either

At this year's MLB Winter Meetings, the first-ever MLB Draft lottery was held. The Cincinnati Reds had the fourth-best odds (13.2%) to land the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, but instead will be picking seventh.

The Reds have never held the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft, but have still be able to select some fine major league players over the years; so all hope is not lost.

However, the results of the draft lottery are not ideal by any means. Cincinnati's rebuild took a hit after dropping three spots in the upcoming draft. The Redlegs were not alone in getting bumped out of the Top 5, as the Oakland A's fell four spots to No. 6.

The Reds will now select 7th in the 2023 MLB Draft.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who had an identical win-loss record to the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. They'll be followed by the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, and the Reds.

So while there's sure to be jubilation from the likes of the Pirates, TIgers, Rangers, and Twins, there's likely dismay on the part of the A's, Reds, and Kansas City Royals.

The draft lottery was put in place as a means to dissuade teams from "tanking"; something that has become all-too-common in sports today. Teams routinely set themselves up to lose on purpose so as to secure early draft picks and build their teams from the inside out with an emphasis on cheap, young talent.

For the moment, that plan seems to have backfired on the Cincinnati Reds. The club purged its roster of veterans like Wade Miley, Tucker Barnhart, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker, Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, and most recently Kyle Farmer in an effort to restock the farm system.

The Reds have done a good job of stockpiling young, controllable talent for the foreseeable future through trades, but the results of last season's failures didn't yield the results the front office was looking for when it comes to the 2023 MLB Draft.

Now, the Cincinnati Reds will not be penalized in the ensuing rounds of the draft, and will select behind the Nationals, A's, and Pirates in Rounds 2-20. The MLB Draft, more than any other in professional sports, is an inexact science.

Oftentimes, the No. 1 overall pick never pans out. Former No. 1 overall selections include Tim Beckham (2008), Mark Appel (2013) , Brady Aiken (2014), and Mickey Moniak (2016). Then, of course there are the success stories of Bryce Harper (2010), Gerrit Cole (2011), and Carolos Correa (2012).

The last time the Cincinnati Reds selected seventh overall in the draft was in 2019 when they picked up a pretty good left-handed starting pitcher out of Texas Christian University named Nick Lodolo. While his career has barely gotten off the ground, the early returns look pretty good.