  We propose a two-component model involving the parton fusion mechanism and
recombination of a $ud$ valence diquark with a sea $c$-quark of the incident
proton to describe $\Lambda_c^+$ inclusive production in $pp$ collisions. We
also study the polarization of the produced $\Lambda_c^+$ in the framework of
the Thomas Precession Model for polarization. We show that a measurement of the
$\Lambda_c$ polarization is a sensitive test of its production mechanism. In
particular the intrinsic charm model predicts a positive polarization for the
$\Lambda_c$ within the framework of the Thomas Precession Model, while
according to the model presented here the $\Lambda_c$ polarization should be
negative. The measurement of the $\Lambda_c$ polarization provides a close
examination of intrinsic charm Fock states in the proton and give interesting
information about the hadroproduction of charm.
