These players could earn teams extra Draft picks this year
Since the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) was implemented under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, four players have earned their clubs extra Draft picks.
The PPI rewards teams for promoting their best prospects to the big leagues at the start of the season, enabling them to earn a Draft pick if said rookies accrue one full year of service time and then factor into a major postseason award. So when Julio Rodr¨ªguez won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2022, the Mariners gained an extra pick in the 2023 Draft as a reward for bringing Rodr¨ªguez -- clearly MLB-ready and one of the top players in the organization -- north with them on Opening Day.
More from MLB Pipeline:
? Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
The Orioles and D-backs benefited a year later when Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll won their league's 2023 Rookie of the Year Awards, earning Baltimore and Arizona an extra pick apiece in the 2024 Draft. And this July, the Royals will have an extra selection (28th overall) because Bobby Witt Jr. -- retaining his PPI-eligibility from two years prior -- finished in the top three of AL MVP voting this past season.
Simply put, the PPI incentivizes teams to summon their top prospects when they are ready. But its not always that simple. The Pirates will not get an extra pick in next year's Draft, even though Paul Skenes won the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award. That's because Skenes didn't debut until May 11, approximately six weeks after Opening Day. The Yankees won't get one for Luis Gil either, because Gil debuted well into the summer in 2021 and accrued too much service time prior to claiming 2024 AL Rookie of the Year honors.
A player who satisfies his PPI eligibility as a rookie but doesn't factor into a major award retains his PPI eligibility until arbitration, so not only rookies are eligible. And not all rookies are. Yankees outfielder Jasson Dom¨ªnguez (MLB No. 21) and A's shortstop Jacob Wilson (MLB No. 31) are not PPI-eligible despite their rookie statuses because they've accrued too much MLB service time. Players may not exceed 60 total days of service and still qualify for PPI. Dominguez has 130 days and Wilson has 73 days, but both remain rookies because they accrued most of their service on the injured list.
On the flip side, No. 1 overall prospect Roki Sasaki is eligible despite signing as an international free agent, because Sasaki signed as an amateur subject to bonus pools. The 23-year-old will retain his PPI eligibility when he makes his much-anticipated debut for the Dodgers.
PPI eligibility is based on preseason rankings. Eligible prospects have to appear on at least two of the three Top 100 Prospect rankings released by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN. Those players must be rookie-eligible and have fewer than 60 days of prior MLB service, which is also the stipulation MLB Pipeline makes in crafting its Top 100 rankings. MLB Pipeline unveiled its new Top 100 in late January. Baseball America and ESPN have also released theirs to fill out the field from which PPI eligibility will be granted.
Eighty seven players on MLB Pipeline¡¯s new Top 100 (and three non-ranked players) are eligible in 2025, as well as 10 from the rookie class of 2024 and nine from the rookie class of 2023. So there's currently a pool of more than 100 PPI-eligible players for 2025, though the final number could fluctuate by Opening Day.
The full list of PPI eligible players in 2025 is as follows:
PPI-eligible players:
2024 Rookie class
Nolan Schanuel, 1B, Angels
Masyn Winn, SS, Cardinals
Kyle Harrison, LHP, Giants
Jackson Merrill, CF, Padres
Jared Jones, RHP, Pirates
Evan Carter, OF, Rangers
Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF/SS, Red Sox
Colton Cowser, OF, Orioles
Austin Wells, C, Yankees
2023 Rookie class
Francisco Alvarez, C, Mets
Hunter Brown, RHP, Astros
Triston Casas, 1B, Red Sox
Cade Cavalli, RHP, Nationals
Josh Jung, 3B, Rangers
Logan O'Hoppe, C, Angels
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Rockies
Anthony Volpe, SS, Yankees
Ken Waldichuk, LHP, Athletics
PPI-eligible prospects:
Astros
Cam Smith, 3B, No. 59 (ETA: 2026)
Athletics
Nick Kurtz, 1B, No. 38 (ETA: 2026)
Blue Jays
Arjun Nimmala, SS, No. 87 (ETA: 2028)
Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, NR (ETA: 2026)
Braves
Drake Baldwin, C, No. 63 (ETA: 2025)
D-backs
Jordan Lawlar, SS, No. 11 (ETA: 2025)
Giants
Bryce Eldridge, 1B, No. 24 (ETA: 2026)
Yankees
George Lombard Jr., INF, NR (ETA: 2027)