Spring training camps will open in a few weeks, bringing excitement for the upcoming baseball season. While there are still many talented free agents available, trades will play a significant role in shaping team rosters. However, at Baseball America, our focus remains on the prospects.
In January, we revealed our highly anticipated Top 100 Prospects ranking for 2024. This list has been followed by MLB Pipeline and ESPN, creating a pool of players eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) draft picks. The introduction of the PPI initiative in 2022 as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement aims to encourage teams to include prospects in their Opening Day rosters, rather than keeping them in the minor leagues for a short period in April to manipulate MLB service time.
Players who qualify for the PPI and go on to achieve major awards will earn their clubs a draft pick after the first round. Over the past two years, Rookies of the Year such as Corbin Carroll, Gunnar Henderson, and Julio Rodriguez have already secured picks and bonus pool funds for their respective teams in the 2023 and 2024 drafts.
To provide an example, the Seattle Mariners added $2.8 million to their draft bonus pool in 2023 through a PPI draft pick. With this pick, they selected high school outfielder Jonny Farmelo as the 29th overall pick.
While no PPI-eligible player has yet finished in the top three for the MVP or Cy Young Award, if one does, it will result in a PPI draft pick as well.
The process for players to qualify their clubs for PPI draft picks involves several criteria. Firstly, the player must appear on a preseason Top 100 Prospects ranking by at least two of the following sources: Baseball America, ESPN, or MLB Pipeline. Secondly, the player must be a rookie and have less than 60 days of prior MLB service. Lastly, the player must accumulate at least one year of MLB service as a rookie, which requires being on an active roster for 172 days. This means the player must either make the team out of spring training or be called up within two weeks of Opening Day.
Players who meet all three criteria and then go on to win the Rookie of the Year award or finish in the top three for MVP or Cy Young Award before reaching arbitration will earn their clubs a PPI draft pick after the first round.
It is important to note that each organization can only receive one PPI pick per year, and a player can only qualify their club for a PPI pick once. Therefore, players like Carroll, Henderson, and Rodriguez no longer have the ability to secure future PPI draft picks for their clubs.
Now that the qualifying Top 100 Prospects rankings have been released, we have a better understanding of which prospects have the potential to gain PPI eligibility. However, it is crucial to remember that this is just the first step. These prospects must still accumulate 172 service days in the 2024 season and then either win the Rookie of the Year award or finish in the top three for MVP or Cy Young Award in 2024, 2025, or 2026 to actually receive a PPI draft pick.