Monday, December 01

HOUSTON -- Even if Astros ace right-hander Hunter Brown doesn’t win the American League Cy Young Award, having him as a finalist for the best pitcher in the league -- alongside Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Boston’s Garrett Crochet -- has already paid dividends for the club.

Brown was eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI), which was implemented in the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement to encourage teams to promote their best young players to the big leagues as early as possible. Because Brown accrued one year of service time as a rookie and finished in the top three in voting for a major award prior to qualifying for arbitration, the Astros will receive an extra pick following the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft.

Brown, one of the Astros’ top prospects in 2022, was called up that year and maintained his rookie status in 2023. He spent his entire rookie season on Houston’s Major League roster. Brown will be eligible for arbitration next season.

(The Astros, by the way, will be eligible for the Draft Lottery for the first time next season because they didn’t make the postseason. They have a 0.34% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s Draft. For the fourth consecutive year, a lottery during December's Winter Meetings will be used to determine the top of the Draft order).

How do clubs earn PPI picks?

MLB clubs can earn a Draft pick after the first round if a PPI-eligible player accrues one year of service as a rookie, then factors into a major award. That means he either has to win his league’s Rookie of the Year award or place in the top three in MVP or Cy Young voting prior to qualifying for arbitration.

But there are a few ways that can happen. One year of service requires 172 days on an active roster, which means ...

Players with little or no MLB service time need to break camp with the team or be called up within two weeks of Opening Day. Then they must spend all or most of the year in the big leagues. Then, they must meet the previously mentioned award requirements.

Players who made an Opening Day roster and accrued the service time but didn’t factor in any awards that year retain PPI eligibility. They need to place in the top three for MVP or Cy Young before hitting arbitration, which typically allows for a three-year window. 

Are there limits?

Yes. There is a limit of one PPI pick per organization per year, and players can earn only one PPI pick for their clubs. 

How do players become PPI-eligible?

Eligibility is based on the preseason rankings. 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.

Can a player lose eligibility?

Yes. PPI eligibility only extends to the clubs for which prospects make their MLB debuts. If a prospect is traded after making his debut, his PPI eligibility is nullified for his new club, even if he still has rookie status. Meanwhile, prospects traded before their MLB debuts retain PPI eligibility with their new clubs. A good example is Astros outfielder Cam Smith, who was acquired from the Cubs last December before making his debut for Houston on Opening Day 2025.

Why is Brown a Cy Young finalist?

Brown, 27, had the best season of his career this year and was the anchor of the Houston pitching staff. He made 31 starts and went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a career-low 1.03 WHIP. He struck out a career-high 206 batters in 185 1/3 innings and allowed only 133 hits. He had eight starts in which he didn't allow an earned run.

Among AL starters, Brown ranked first in opponents' slugging percentage (.318), second in ERA and opponents' OPS (.589), tied for second in quality starts (21) and third in strikeouts.

The winner of the Cy Young will be announced at 6 p.m. CT Nov. 12 on MLB Network. But in a way, the Astros have already won.

Two former Astros -- pitcher Roger Clemens and second baseman Jeff Kent -- are up for consideration for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by way of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The committee will meet Dec. 7 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando to vote.

The eight-name Contemporary Baseball Era player ballot, which features candidates whose primary contribution to the game came since 1980, also includes Barry Bonds, Carlos Delgado, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela.

 
Any candidate who receives 75 percent of the votes cast by the 16-person committee will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2026, along with those who will be voted in by the BBWAA in January. Clemens and Kent didn’t get elected by the writers after 10 years on the ballot.

A seven-time Cy Young winner, Clemens pitched three seasons for the Astros, going 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 33 starts in 2004 to win the NL Cy Young. He went 13-8 with a league-leading 1.87 ERA and helped Houston reach the World Series for the first time in’ 05, and he came out of retirement in May ‘06 and went 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts.

A five-time All-Star and 2000 NL MVP, Kent signed with the Astros prior to the 2003 season and took over at second base, pushing future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio to the outfield. He memorably hit a three-run walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS against the Cardinals after hitting 27 of his 377 career homers in the regular season.

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