This year’s rookie class is the fifth for which Prospect Promotion Incentive eligibility is a part of the Opening Day roster equation. Any PPI-eligible player who factors for a major award in his first three seasons yields a draft pick for his club after the first round, boosting its bonus pool by roughly $3 million.
The calculus looks something like this for MLB clubs: Any prospect talented enough to potentially finish first or second for the American or National League Rookie of the Year award merits consideration for a 26-man roster spot on Opening Day.
That’s because, while Collective Bargaining Agreement initiatives, including PPI, are designed to quell service-time manipulation for top prospects, they also present a disincentive to clubs. Any player who finishes first or second for a ROY award receives credit for a full year of MLB service, regardless of callup date. So, it makes sense for clubs to consider getting a full year of MLB production if they are being charged a full year of MLB service.
In each season under the current CBA, at least one club has felt the pinch of this disincentive. In 2022, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman and Braves outfielder Michael Harris II both finished top two for ROY. Thus, both players received credit for a full year of MLB service despite May callup dates.
But Baltimore and Atlanta missed out on PPI draft picks because of those players’ callup dates. Only players who accrue at least 172 service days—out of 186 in a typical “championship season”—add PPI eligibility. Players called up in May can only max out around 150 service days.
This same scenario played out with Guardians righthander Tanner Bibee in 2023, Pirates righthander Paul Skenes in 2024 and Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz in 2025. All were in-season callups who finished top two for ROY and earned a year of service for that finish, all while their clubs missed out on PPI draft picks.
For Cleveland, Pittsburgh and the Athletics, that situation would have been rectified had they carried Bibee, Skenes and Kurtz on Opening Day rosters.
We review those cases and more in this historical team-by-team accounting of every player to ever qualify for PPI eligibility, as well as notable players who missed qualifying and those poised to add eligibility in 2026. Players are displayed along with the seasons for which they had or continue to have PPI eligibility.
An asterisk (*) denotes a player who yielded a PPI draft pick for his club.
Arizona Diamondbacks
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Corbin Carroll, OF (2023)*
Geraldo Perdomo, SS (2022, 2023, 2024)
Corbin Carroll won the 2023 NL ROY award, yielding a 2024 PPI draft pick for the D-backs that they used to select Ryan Waldschmidt. Geraldo Perdomo came much closer to triggering another PPI pick for Arizona than could have been anticipated when he hit .195 with a 57 OPS+ as a 2022 rookie. Perdomo blossomed into an all-star in 2025 and finished fourth in NL MVP voting.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt finished last season at Double-A and has a shot to win a share of the left field job while Lourdes Gurriel Jr. rehabs from ACL knee surgery he had in September.
Athletics
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Ken Waldichuk, LHP (2023, 2024, 2025)
Ken Waldichuk provided 141 innings to a 112-loss A’s team in 2023 but missed most of 2024 and 2025 to Tommy John surgery. Waived after last season, he is now on the Nationals’ 40-man roster. More notable for the Athletics is the case of shortstop Jacob Wilson, who would have added PPI eligibility in 2025 if he hadn’t spent so much time on the MLB injured list in 2024. First baseman Nick Kurtz would have accrued the necessary MLB service in 2025 to add PPI eligibility had he been called up about two weeks earlier than April 23.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The A’s run deep with pitching prospects, but even still, arms such as Jamie Arnold and Gage Jump are not great bets to break camp with the big league club.
Atlanta Braves
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Drake Baldwin won the 2025 NL ROY, yielding a 2026 PPI draft pick for the Braves at No. 26 overall. Atlanta also had the 2022 ROY, but Michael Harris II was not eligible for PPI based on his callup date. Had he made the Opening Day roster and won ROY, he would have bestowed the Braves with a PPI draft pick in 2023.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
In light of rotation injuries to Spence Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, 22-year-old righthander JR Ritchie has at least a chance to make the team after pitching well at Triple-A last season.
Baltimore Orioles
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Colton Cowser, OF (2024, 2025, 2026)
Gunnar Henderson, SS (2023)*
Gunnar Henderson won the 2023 AL ROY, yielding a 2024 PPI draft pick that the Orioles used to select Griff O’Ferrall. Baltimore missed out on the chance for PPI eligibility from catcher Adley Rutschman in 2022 and second baseman Jackson Holliday in 2024. Neither player accumulated enough MLB service as rookies to qualify.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Orioles debuted two top prospects in mid August last year, calling up catcher Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers. Both are expected to make the Opening Day roster and have roles.
Boston Red Sox
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Triston Casas, 1B (2023, 2024, 2025)
Ceddanne Rafaela, CF (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Red Sox prepared to have second baseman Kristian Campbell add PPI eligibility in 2025, but his production nosedived after a hot April and he was optioned to Triple-A in June and did not return. Signed to an eight-year extension shortly after his MLB debut, Campbell will definitely be back, most likely as an outfielder.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Lefthanders Connelly Early and Payton Tolle both made their MLB debuts last summer and will likely throw big league innings this year, but neither is a great bet to break camp with Boston.
Chicago Cubs
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Michael Busch, 1B (2024, 2025, 2026)
Only Pete Alonso, Matt Olson and Bryce Harper have hit more home runs among first basemen than Busch since his rookie season. Third baseman Matt Shaw made the 2025 Opening Day roster with a chance to add PPI eligibility, but a mid-April demotion scuttled that.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Pure-hitting catcher Moises Ballesteros made his MLB debut last season and is in the Opening Day mix for playing time behind the plate and at DH.
Chicago White Sox
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
The White Sox have not yet had a PPI-eligible rookie, despite having Top 100 Prospects Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel debut in 2025. The closest they have come is 2023, when outfielder Oscar Colas made the Opening Day roster but was demoted after 25 games. He played in just 13 big league games in 2024 and was released in 2025.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Once again, none of the best White Sox prospects line up for Opening Day. Outfielder Braden Montgomery, righthander Tanner McDougal and lefthanders Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith could all debut this season, but none is likely to break camp.
Cincinnati Reds
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Hunter Greene, RHP (2022, 2023, 2024)
Nick Lodolo, LHP (2022, 2023, 2024)
Rhett Lowder, RHP (2025, 2026, 2027)
The Reds’ pitching factory has produced multiple standout rookies in recent seasons. Righthander Chase Burns would have been a fine addition to the list, but he exceeded rookie service-time limits in 2025, even though he did not reach 50 innings.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
First baseman Sal Stewart is one of the safest bets to add PPI eligibility this season. He is a mature hitter who performed as a 2025 callup and plays for a team that badly needs offensive presence.
Cleveland Guardians
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Brayan Rocchio, SS (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Guardians have produced more standout rookie pitchers than hitters in recent seasons, but their most productive recent hitting grad is Steven Kwan, who wasn’t PPI eligible in 2022 on account of lacking Top 100 Prospect pedigree. Quality homegrown pitchers Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams were in-season callups in 2023.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Lefthander Parker Messick and outfielder Chase DeLauter were 2025 callups who now enter 2026 as Top 100 Prospects with a good chance to make the Opening Day roster—or be called up early enough in the season to reach 172 service days as rookies.
Colorado Rockies
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Ezequiel Tovar, SS (2023, 2024, 2025)
Like the White Sox, the Rockies have had surprisingly few PPI wins despite mounting MLB losses. Ezequiel Tovar is one notable exception. The shortstop appeared poised for big things in 2024, only to suffer an injury-plagued 2025. Righthander Chase Dollander had a path to PPI in 2025 prior to his July demotion. He gave up more than a run per inning at Coors Field but pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 10 road starts.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Rockies face another season with no viable PPI candidate. First baseman Charlie Condon was swinging a hot bat early in Cactus League play and has a path to make the Opening Day roster, but he failed to rank on two out of three qualifying Top 100 Prospects lists.
Detroit Tigers
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Jackson Jobe, RHP (2025, 2026, 2027)
Jackson Jobe had Tommy John surgery after just 10 starts in 2025, but he added PPI eligibility because time on the MLB injured list satisfies the service-time requirement. First baseman Spencer Torkelson and outfielder Riley Greene were immortalized as “Tiger Kings” on our 2022 MLB Preview issue cover. Both were rookies that season, but neither satisfied PPI requirements. Torkelson made the Opening Day roster but was optioned in July, while Greene was sidelined the first two months of the season with a foot injury and was not a 40-man roster player during that time, meaning that he accrued no MLB service time. Second baseman Colt Keith had his PPI eligibility nullified in 2024 because he signed a pre-debut contract extension.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Shortstop Kevin McGonigle is one of the best pure-hitting prospects scouts have seen in years. He has better than 50/50 odds of breaking camp with the Tigers.
Houston Astros
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Hunter Brown, RHP (2023, 2024, 2025)*
Jeremy Peña, SS (2022, 2023, 2024)
Cam Smith, OF (2025, 2026, 2027)
Hunter Brown finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2025, his final year of PPI eligibility, yielding a 2026 PPI draft pick for the Astros at No. 28 overall. Cam Smith is a notable case in that the 2025 rookie had been drafted 14th overall the year before and had played in just 32 minor league games prior to his debut.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
With zero Top 100 Prospects this spring, the Astros lack a PPI candidate, but that doesn’t mean they will be without rookie intrigue. Second baseman Brice Matthews and righthander AJ Blubaugh are rookies with prior MLB experience.
Kansas City Royals
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Bobby Witt Jr., SS (2022, 2023, 2024)*
Bobby Witt Jr. finished runner-up for AL MVP in 2024, in his final year of PPI eligibility, yielding a 2025 PPI draft pick that the Royals used to select Josh Hammond. Other young members of Kansas City’s core, including Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone, were in-season callups who missed the service-time window.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Catcher Carter Jensen shined as a September callup and enters the season as the No. 11 overall prospect. He grew up in Kansas City as a Salvador Perez fan and now gets to play alongside his idol. He is a near-lock to make the Opening Day roster.
Los Angeles Angels
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Logan O’Hoppe, C (2023, 2024, 2025)
Nolan Schanuel, 1B (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Angels are notorious for rushing college draft picks to the big leagues, but only 2023 first-rounder Nolan Schanuel actually made an Opening Day roster and gained PPI eligibility. Others such as Reid Detmers, Zach Neto and Christian Moore were called up during the season and did not qualify for PPI.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Yet another Angels first-round pick has a chance to be fast-tracked to Anaheim. The club’s 2025 top pick at No. 2 overall was Tyler Bremner, an advanced college righthander and SoCal native who at least has a glimmer of a chance to make the Opening Day roster as a non-roster invitee to spring training.
Los Angeles Dodgers
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Roki Sasaki, RHP (2025, 2026, 2027)
The Dodgers had second baseman Miguel Vargas and righthander Ryan Pepiot lined up to gain PPI eligibility in 2023, the former as a regular and the latter on the 60-day injured list. But both players were optioned to Triple-A and failed to meet the service threshold. Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki also spent time at Triple-A as a rookie in 2025, though he was on a rehab assignment rather than an optional one. That resulted in continuous MLB service time and thus satisfied PPI requirements.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Dodgers have a veteran MLB roster and no rookie with a realistic path to a role. Infielder Alex Freeland may be an exception, but he is not PPI eligible as a non-Top 100 Prospect.
Miami Marlins
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Few teams play more rookies than the Marlins. Yet somehow they have never had a PPI-eligible one. This is a function of persistently poor Miami farm systems—until recently—as well as workload concerns for 20-year-old Eury Perez when he was a rookie in 2023. Perez was the organization’s best bet for PPI based on talent, but it’s also understandable why the Marlins took it slow with such a young pitching prospect.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The rebuilt Marlins farm system will have a chance to add a PPI-eligible prospect this year, most likely via outfielder Owen Caissie or lefthander Robby Snelling, both trade acquisitions. Homegrown catcher Joe Mack also has an outside shot at making the Opening Day roster after playing 100 games at Triple-A last season.
Milwaukee Brewers
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Joey Ortiz, SS (2024, 2025, 2026)
Joey Ortiz enters his final season with PPI eligibility, and like other notable Brewers candidates (see below), he was acquired via trade. Star prospect outfielder Jackson Chourio made the Opening Day roster in 2024 but did not qualify for PPI because he had signed a pre-debut contract extension.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Acquired in the offseason Freddy Peralta trade, righthander Brandon Sproat finished last season in MLB with the Mets and has a chance to earn an Opening Day role and add PPI eligibility if he stays on the Brewers’ roster all season. Shortstop Jett Williams was also a part of the Peralta deal, but he will probably begin at Triple-A after struggling at the level in a brief stint last year. Righthander Logan Henderson is not PPI-eligible on account of having too much MLB service.
Minnesota Twins
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Joe Ryan, RHP (2022, 2023, 2024)
The Twins called up second baseman Luke Keaschall on April 18 last year, missing the service-time cutoff by about a week. He finished with 164 service days as a rookie in 2025. Shortstop Royce Lewis was ineligible for PPI as a rookie in 2023 because he accrued too much service on the MLB injured list in 2022.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
A top prospect such as outfielders Walker Jenkins or Emmanuel Rodriguez, shortstop Kaelen Culpepper or lefthander Connor Prielipp would have to play his way onto the Opening Day roster.
New York Mets
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Francisco Alvarez, C (2023, 2024, 2025)
Ronny Mauricio, 3B (2024, 2025, 2026)
Third baseman Brett Baty had a chance to add PPI eligibility in 2023 until he was optioned to Triple-A that August. Francisco Alvarez spent time on optional assignment in 2025 but still accrued enough MLB service to qualify for arbitration as a Super 2, thus ending his PPI eligibility period.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Former Oklahoma State teammates Nolan McLean and Carson Benge both rank as top 20 overall prospects with a chance to spend the 2026 season in the majors. Righthander McLean is a lock to make the Opening Day roster following his scintillating debut in 2025. This year he is expected to be one of the Mets’ top starters. Outfielder Benge is competing to win the right field job but has no previous MLB experience.
New York Yankees
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Anthony Volpe, SS (2023, 2024, 2025)
Austin Wells, C (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Yankees churned out up-the-middle rookies Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells in consecutive seasons, which is not easy to do for a team contending for the World Series. Outfielder Jasson Dominguez had a chance to join them in 2024 had he not been optioned to Triple-A following his rehab from Tommy John surgery. He accrued too much MLB service time on the injured list in 2024 to keep PPI eligibility intact when he was a rookie in 2025.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Righthander Elmer Rodriguez would add PPI eligibility if he were to make the Opening Day roster and stay in the big leagues all season.
Philadelphia Phillies
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Bryson Stott, 2B (2022, 2023, 2024)
The Phillies haven’t incorporated many rookies into their mix during the PPI era. Second baseman Bryson Stott is one exception for a team focused on veteran value.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Phillies could break camp with two rookies in prominent roles this season if outfielder Justin Crawford and righthander Andrew Painter make the squad.
Pittsburgh Pirates
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Jared Jones, RHP (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Pirates are most notable for a player who did not attain PPI eligibility. In 2024, Paul Skenes met the prospect standard and won NL Rookie of the Year, but his May 11 callup date rendered him incapable of reaching 172 service days.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Pirates have two standout rookie candidates capable of factoring for a major award one day: shortstop Konnor Griffin and righthander Bubba Chandler. Griffin is the No. 1 overall prospect with scant upper-level minor league experience. Still, he could be talented enough to warrant an Opening Day roster spot. The downside, as illustrated by Skenes, is clear: If Griffin plays well enough this season to place first or second for NL ROY, then he gains a full year of MLB service, regardless of callup date. So from the Pirates’ perspective, why not get that one year of production for that one year of service?
St. Louis Cardinals
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Masyn Winn, SS (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Cardinals opened 2023 with 20-year-old Jordan Walker in right field. He struggled to meet the offensive and defensive demands and was optioned to Triple-A at the end of April, ending his PPI bid. Walker is the only other player besides Masyn Winn who has come close to attaining PPI eligibility for St. Louis.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
When the Cardinals traded veteran infielders Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan in the offseason, they all but handed over a starting gig to top prospect JJ Wetherholt, most likely at second base. He is a strong bet to win the job and remain a productive MLB player all season.
San Diego Padres
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Jackson Merrill, CF (2024, 2025, 2026)
The Padres made a bold move to install 21-year-old Jackson Merrill as their Opening Day center fielder. Not only did he have just 46 games above Class A, but the natural shortstop had never actually played center field in a professional game. The 2026 season will be the final one in which he can win a PPI draft pick for the Padres. It would require a top three finish for NL MVP. Shortstop CJ Abrams opened the 2022 season in the big leagues but lost the chance to add PPI eligibility when he was optioned to Triple-A in May. Likewise, rookie lefthander MacKenzie Gore opened 2022 in San Diego, but his PPI eligibility was nullified when the Padres included him in their trade for Juan Soto that August.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Padres don’t have a logical candidate. All their top prospects play at the lower levels of the minor leagues, or in the case of Ethan Salas do not clear the Top 100 Prospects hurdle.
San Francisco Giants
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Kyle Harrison, LHP (2024)
Kyle Harrison added PPI eligibility as a Giants rookie in 2024 but lost it when San Francisco traded him to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers trade on June 15, 2025. PPI eligibility, once attached, does not transfer to another club via trade.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Twenty-one-year-old Bryce Eldridge has a good chance to break camp with the Giants as part of their first base and DH arrangement. The 6-foot-7 lefthanded slugger is coming off consecutive 20-homer seasons in the minors and got his feet wet in San Francisco last September.
Seattle Mariners
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Julio Rodriguez, CF (2022)*
Julio Rodriguez won the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year award, yielding a 2023 PPI draft pick that the Mariners turned into Jonny Farmelo.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
Shortstop Colt Emerson has a chance to earn a big league role on Opening Day but is not a lock. He performed well in the minors last season, but played just 34 games at Double-A and another six at Triple-A. Barring injury, the Mariners have no obvious place to play Emerson on their infield unless he beats out 2025 rookie Cole Young.
Tampa Bay Rays
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Shane Baz, RHP (2022, 2023, 2024)
Third baseman Curtis Mead broke camp with the Rays in 2024 but hit .218 with a .545 OPS prior to being optioned to Triple-A in May. He put up a 79 OPS+ in parts of three seasons with Tampa Bay before the club traded him to the White Sox for Adrian Houser in July 2025.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Rays called up shortstop Carson Williams last August and gave him some run. He remains rookie eligible this season and has the fielding chops and power potential to hold down the position if the Rays can tolerate a high strikeout rate. Tampa Bay acquired prospect outfielder Jacob Melton in an offseason trade, but he is not PPI-eligible on account of having too much MLB service.
Texas Rangers
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Evan Carter, OF (2024, 2025, 2026)
Josh Jung, 3B (2023, 2024, 2025)
Wyatt Langford, OF (2024, 2025, 2026)
Josh Jung was a key member of the Rangers’ 2023 World Series champions, while Evan Carter was a late callup that year and postseason star. Both players added PPI eligibility as rookies, as did 2024 rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford, who wasn’t part of the 2023 World Series winners but was drafted fourth overall that year. Langford played in just 44 minor league games prior to his 2024 debut. Righthander Kumar Rocker made Texas’ Opening Day roster in 2025 with a path to PPI eligibility, but he struggled and was optioned to Triple-A in June.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Rangers don’t have a candidate this year and probably won’t have meaningful rookie contributors.
Toronto Blue Jays
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
The Blue Jays have not had a player add PPI eligibility, which is a function of having an older pitching staff as well as core young hitters such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk all arriving prior to the implementation of PPI.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
World Series hero Trey Yesavage is the preseason AL Rookie of the Year favorite and one of the strongest bets to add PPI eligibility among 2026 rookies.
Washington Nationals
PPI-Eligible Players For Franchise:
Cade Cavalli, RHP (2023, 2024, 2025)
Dylan Crews, OF (2025, 2026, 2027)
Cade Cavalli and Dylan Crews are both Nationals first-round picks who went on to add PPI eligibility. Because the Nationals optioned Cavalli to Triple-A for a stretch in 2025, he fell short of three service years. However, he had enough service to qualify for arbitration as a Super 2, thus ending his PPI eligibility.
Best Chance To Add PPI In 2026
The Nationals added catcher Harry Ford in an offseason trade with the Mariners, and he could make the Opening Day roster in a job share with Keibert Ruiz. Ford got his feet wet in the majors last year but batted just eight times.