Pittsburgh Pirates Select Stanford’s Mark Appel with No. 8 Pick

With the No. 8 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates got lucky as Stanford right-hander Mark Appel fell to them.

Or maybe they didn’t get lucky at all.

Most expected Appel to be the No. 1 overall pick, but his agent Scott Boras scared teams away with his demands. that alone could make negotiaitions very interesting, especially since comissioner Bud Selig has now instituted penalties for teams such as the Pirates that elect to build through the draft and overpay prospects somewhat.

So much for competitive balance, instead we will still see economic imbalance.

Instead of fair negotiations, if the Pirates meet the demands of Boras, they will be subject to a penalty.  That’s Bud’s way of sticking it to the teams that don’t line his pockets with money. It’s perfectly fair to spend $100-$200 million on a major league player, but when you can’t afford to do that then Bud wants to stick it to you.

As for Appel, the  6′ 5″ right hander entered the year as the top prospect in the draft, and has drawn comparisons to Justin Verlander. That says enough for me.

Appel throws his fastball in the 92-95 MPH range, and has touched 98-99 at different times and also throws a hard slider and a circle changeup. His fastball is currently a plus pitch, and he has a ton of potential with the other two pitches.

If the Bucs can sign Appel, it’s expected that he can move through the system quicky and along with Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole, could give the Bucs a trio of future aces.

At No. 8 Appel is a steal and the 2015 pitching staff is going to be fun to watch.

Pick Grade: A