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Aug 8, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) looks on before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

A's to Miss Out on Bonus Draft Pick

Originally posted on Oakland Athletics on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 1:00 PM ET

A's rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz seems like the runaway favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, and certainly has the resumé to earn himself some hardware at the end of the 2025 season. These days, that should earn his team an added bonus, but unfortunately, there will be no bonus for the A's no matter how Kurtz finishes, Athletics on SI has confirmed.

Back in 2022, as part of the new CBA, Major League Baseball introduced the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) to give teams a reason to promote their young, talented players at the beginning of the baseball season, in an effort to address the concerns revolving around service time manipulation.

From Baseball America, "If an eligible player wins the Rookie of the Year award or is a finalist for either the MVP or Cy Young award before reaching arbitration eligibility, their team receives a draft pick in the following year's draft, immediately following the first round."

From MLB.com, "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."

So basically the rules are that a prospect has to be highly ranked, doesn't have a ton of MLB service time (if any), and has to accrue a full season in that first year they're in the big leagues. There are other rules and limitations, but for our purposes today, those are the ones you need to know.

While Jacob Wilson is a rookie this season, he was deemed ineligible for the PPI list due to accruing 73 days of service time, while the cutoff is 60 to retain that eligibility. That left Kurtz as the A's sole PPI representative entering the season, but he too will miss out on earning the A's a draft pick since the team waited just long enough for him to not qualify before making the call.

Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Kurtz debuted on April 23, missing the cutoff by about a week. If he'd been up slightly earlier, the A's would have another early pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, which would add to the top-end talent in an already solid farm system.

The part that has to sting a little more is that entering that week that he could have been in the Majors, he was batting .367 with a .409 OBP and seven home runs through 14 games. He went 5-for-24 (.208) in that final series before joining the A's, so it's not like he pushed his way up to Sacramento in the final week.

It's tough to blame the front office for this one, given that Kurtz was selected by the A's in the MLB Draft just months before this decision was made, and it was difficult to know if he'd be ready for certain even when he was called up. Of course, he's gone on to become a monster in the middle of the A's lineup, which was expected--one day. That day just came immediately.

Thus far there have been four PPI picks in the three drafts since the implementation of the PPI program, and they have gone to the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Kansas City Royals. Those have come following the emergence of Julio Rodríguez, Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll, and Bobby Witt Jr.

Three of the four subsequent picks have landed on their team's top-10 lists, with Ryan Waldschmidt of the D-Backs being the highest-ranked at No. 2 in Arizona's system and No. 69 overall. While outfielder Jonny Farmelo is Seattle's No. seventh-ranked prospect, he's also ranked No. 83 in Pipeline's top-100.

Again, back in April it was tough to forecast Kurtz having the kind of season he's ended up having, but the A's would have had a great shot to select another useful piece to their system if they'd been able to pull the trigger on that promotion just a touch sooner.

This article first appeared on Oakland Athletics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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