The Orioles drafted Dylan Beavers with the No. 33 pick in 2022, the ballclub’s second selection after taking Jackson Holliday atop the draft.
Now, Beavers has the chance to reward the Orioles with the opportunity to draft the next Dylan Beavers.
Beavers on Friday night was ranked inside MLB Pipeline’s preseason 100 prospects list. The 24-year-old outfielder came in at No. 69, his first time landing on MLB Pipeline’s ranking. The recognition was Beavers’ second of the week after Baseball America ranked him No. 21 on its list Wednesday.
Now ranked on two major preseason top 100 prospect lists, Beavers is on track to be eligible for MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive program. That means if he begins the season on Baltimore’s opening day roster and wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award this season, the Orioles will be rewarded with an extra draft pick in 2027 between the first and second rounds — the same range in which Baltimore selected Beavers.
The intriguing part for the Orioles is that Beavers isn’t the only player who is set to be PPI eligible. Slugging sensation Samuel Basallo, who Baseball America ranked No. 9 and MLB Pipeline has at No. 8, will be as well, providing the Orioles multiple avenues to earning extra draft picks.
The PPI program was established in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement as a way to reward teams for promoting top prospects rather than manipulating their service time. Teams sometimes wait to promote prospects until mid-April or May to gain an extra year of the player’s service before he hits free agency, but the PPI program aims to curb that practice by incentivizing teams with draft picks.
Players can earn their teams an extra draft pick by either winning the Rookie of the Year Award or placing within the top three in Most Valuable Player or Cy Young voting before reaching arbitration.
The Orioles have already reaped the benefits of the PPI program. Gunnar Henderson won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2023 after beginning the season as the sport’s top prospect, earning the Orioles the No. 32 pick in the 2024 draft, which they used to select Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall.
Beavers having PPI eligibility this season would have been shocking a year ago. Before August, the outfielder had never been ranked on a major top 100 list despite putting up solid numbers throughout his minor league career. But he dominated Triple-A, hitting .304 with a .934 OPS to earn his big league promotion in mid-August — the same weekend that Basallo’s long-awaited call-up also came.
Even then, Beavers was a fringe top 100 prospect, ranked between Nos. 82 and 93 by all three major lists. His rise up the rankings is a result of his impressive first stint in the show, during which he posted a .775 OPS and 18.9% walk rate.
While Beavers had the better start to his MLB career than Basallo, who hit .165 in 31 games, the latter is seen as the likelier candidate to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award given his immense talent and power. BetMGM has Basallo with the fifth-best odds to win the award at +800 but doesn’t list Beavers.
One other Orioles prospect was included on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list, but Baltimore fans won’t see him play at Camden Yards in 2026. Outfielder Nate George, whom Baseball America also ranked, came in at No. 93 after his stellar 2025 season. The 19-year-old and former 16th-round pick began the year in rookie ball but climbed the ladder to High-A while hitting .337 with an .896 OPS.
Pitching prospects Trey Gibson and Luis De León were included on Baseball America’s top 100 but not MLB Pipeline’s list. ESPN, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs and other publications have yet to release their preseason prospect lists.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.