The Kansas City Royals have been busy to start Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft. After selecting Sean gamble with their first round pick at No. 23, they found themselves back on the clock five picks later at pick No. 28, the first and only pick in the Prospect Promotion Incentive Round, selecting Josh Hammond.
The reason the Royals received this selection was thanks to Bobby Witt Jr. not only rapidly turning into the cornerstone of this franchise, but one of the best players in all of baseball.
According to the rules of PPI, if a player is a preseason Top 100 prospect across multiple major ranking outlets (MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN) and wins or is a finalist for a major award before they hot their arbitration eligible years, their organization is rewarded with an additional draft pick the following year.