PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 22: Bubba Chandler #57 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the sixth inning of his MLB debut during the game against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park on August 22, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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MLB’s best prospects tend to debut at certain times of the year, such as at the beginning of the season or when rosters expand in September. Over the last few years, mid-to-late August has become another calendar hot spot for call-ups, and this year was no exception.
Six players from MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list have debuted since August 14, including Bubba Chandler (7th overall), Samuel Basallo (8th overall), Nolan McLean (37th overall), Owen Caissie (45th overall), Carson Williams (47th overall), and Jhostynxon Garcia (77th overall).
There’s a good reason why so many of the game’s top young talent gets the call this time of year. The collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players union, signed in 2022, allows for Prospect Promotion Incentives (PPI). If a rookie spends a full year on the major league roster and wins the Rookie of the Year Award, or finishes in the top three in the Cy Young or MVP voting before their arbitration-eligible years, their team will earn an extra pick at the end of the first round of the next amateur draft.
The first player to trigger this clause was Bobby Witt Jr. He debuted for the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day in 2022 and stayed on their roster all year. In 2024, which would have been a pre-arbitration year for him had he not signed an 11-year extension, he finished second in the American League MVP voting. As a result, the Royals were awarded a bonus pick, 28th overall, in the 2025 draft.
To maintain rookie eligibility, a player must not exceed 45 days of service time, 130 at bats, or 50 innings pitched. Most likely, all the players who were recently called up will preserve their rookie eligibility in 2026. If they accrue a full year of service time next year, they will be eligible to earn PPI picks for their ballclubs based on awards voting.
Some of those prospects will be favorites to win next year’s Rookie of the Year Awards. Basallo is a slugging catcher and first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles who has the potential to hit more than 30 home runs, and has already signed an eight-year extension, so he isn’t going back to the minors anytime soon.
Chandler is the highest-ranked pitching prospect in the game right now. Next year, he will join a formidable young rotation on the Pittsburgh Pirates that includes Paul Skenes. For now, Pittsburgh is using him in a long relief role, possibly to keep him under that 50 inning threshold.
His main competition for the National League Rookie of the Year could be McLean, who has dazzled in two starts for the New York Mets. He has struck out 15 men in 12 1/3 innings with only six hits and two runs allowed. He posted a 2.45 ERA over 18 starts in Triple-A.
There are over 200 rookies in MLB every year. Even though many of them won’t complete a full season or exhaust their rookie eligibility, it’s exceedingly difficult to win the Rookie of the Year, and even tougher to have a top three finish in the Cy Young or MVP in a player’s first three years in the major leagues. Even for top prospects, it’s a longshot to trigger a PPI pick, but it’s a chance worth taking for many teams.