Reds could pay a huge price if Sal Stewart is overlooked for Rookie of the Year

The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals recently wrapped up a five-game series, and the two leading candidates for this year's National League Rookie of the Year Award — Sal Stewart and JJ Wetherholt — showcased their elite-level talents.

The discourse surrounding this year's award has become fierce. Reds and Cardinals fans can be found incessantly bickering back and forth online with each fandom claiming victory over the other. Reds fans continually tout Stewart's offensive statistics, while Cardinals fans highlight numerous defensive metrics in an attempt to curry favor to their side.

At the end of the day, it's not about the fan's vote — this isn't the All-Star Game, you know? It's about the writers. Thirty members of the Baseball Writer's Association of American (BBWAA) will cast their votes before the start of the MLB Postseason to decide the winner.

I could sit back and write over 500 words about why Stewart is far more deserving of this year's Rookie of the Year Award than Wetherholt, but instead I wanted to turn your attention toward the unfortunate fallout that could occur if the voters disagree with that assessment.

Reds could lose PPI draft pick if Sal Stewart loses NL ROY to JJ Wetherholt

One of the newer features to come out of the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and the Player's Association was the implementation of the Prospective Promotion Incentive (PPI). This was designed to encourage teams to accelerate the promotion of their top prospects and curb service time manipulation.

The benefit for the player is obvious; he gets to the big leagues sooner, starts his arbitration clock, and begins to make Major League money. The benefits for teams is the PPI draft pick, and that could be incredibly valuable to the Reds.

If a rookie accrues one year of service time then factors into a major postseason award, it nets the organization an additional draft pick after Round 1. A top-3 finish for MVP or Cy Young, provided the player meets the criteria, automatically earns a team one of those PPI picks.

But for the Rookie of the Year Award, a top-3 finish won't cut it. In order to receive the PPI pick, the player must actually win the award. Because both Stewart and Wetherholt meet the criteria, one of the Reds or Cardinals will get that added draft bonus once the winner is announced in November.

In other words, there's more than just bragging rights on the line. Given the current state of Cincinnati's farm system, that extra draft pick could really help bolster the Reds' pipeline and add another capable bat or arm to the organization next July.

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