Image credit: (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Japanese right-hander Aki Sasaki on Friday night, an extreme example of the rich getting richer.
But there’s another way the Dodgers could benefit from signing Sasaki. He could also cost them a valuable draft pick.
Sasaki does not meet the criteria to be considered a “foreign professional” and is therefore eligible for Prospect Performance Incentive (PPI).
Related news Aki Sasaki
To meet PPI eligibility criteria, a player must be a rookie with less than 60 days on MLB’s roster (active list or disabled list). He must earn a full season of MLB time in his rookie season and be on two of three top 100 prospect lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, ESPN.com). Players who meet the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement’s “foreign professional” criteria (those who are at least 25 years old and have at least seven years of experience in a top-level international league) are clearly not eligible for PPI designation.
Sasaki meets rookie standards, but it would be shocking if he doesn’t meet full-season service time standards. It’s unlikely he’ll spend any time in the minors in 2025. Even if a player is unable to play due to an injury, time spent on MLB’s disabled list counts as full season MLB service time.
So the only remaining hurdle is to rank in two out of three top 100 prospect lists. I can’t speak for MLB.com or ESPN.com, but Sasaki will be in Baseball America’s top 100 prospect rankings when the rankings are released on January 22nd.
Although the Top 100 Prospects ranking no longer includes players who are considered “foreign professionals,” Sasaki is eligible because he signed a MiLB contract and entered MLB through the international signing bonus pool system.
That means if either ESPN or MLB ranks Sasaki, he will be eligible for PPI. Then, if he wins National League Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three in Cy Young Award voting in any season before becoming eligible for arbitration, he will be designated PPI by the Dodgers at the end of the next first round. will acquire the right. MLB draft. (Technically speaking, the top three in MVP voting would also meet the criteria, but there is no pitcher who finishes in the top three in MVP voting and is not in the top three in Cy Young Award voting.)
In 2024, the D-backs will draft No. 31 (Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt), the Orioles will draft No. 32 (Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall), and PPI picks for Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson. obtained the right. In 2023, the Mariners drafted outfielder Johnny Farmero with the 29th overall pick, giving them the PPI pick for Julio Rodriguez’s Rookie of the Year award. The Royals will have a PPI pick in 2025 because Bobby Witt Jr. finished in the top three in the AL MVP race.
So in addition to signing under MLB rules well below market rate, Sasaki could give the Dodgers a very valuable draft pick next season.
