Potential 2013 Twins Draft Pick: Mark Appel

This is going to be a fun story to follow this season. As much as I hate these kinds of guys/agents, Appel might be worth it. He has very little leverage in this scenario. My #1 question is how MLB ready is he? If he does fall to the Twins and ends up signing.... he could realistically be part of the 2014 Twins. Appel, Gibson, Worely, Hendriks, Diamond... with Maysie and Myersie knocking on the door? That would be a complete turn-around. If that happens.... I really hope the Twins don't chop up the MLB team, because that rotation would be pretty good.... dare I even say playoff caliber...

Appel dominates Texas. Box.

Well, he keeps this up no way he'll be around at #4

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Originally Posted by gunnarthor

Well, he keeps this up no way he'll be around at #4

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That's the only sucky part. Appel clearly was an ace before this season. If he looks like a superstar ace, he'll get snapped up with the first pick irregardless of Scott Boras and the astronomical cost of the young man's services. And even if he does fall to #4, isn't he going to want Joe Mauer sized money?

I don't remember the last player in the MLB draft to get a major league contract, but that would be an option right? I would think that would probably help with some bonus problems maybe?

The new CBA doesn't allow major league contracts to draftees anymore. One option would be a handshake agreement to get Appel to the bigs ASAP to start his arbitration clock.

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Originally Posted by Joe

I don't remember the last player in the MLB draft to get a major league contract, but that would be an option right? I would think that would probably help with some bonus problems maybe?

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No not anymore, to be honest they did more Damage then good sometimes. If Appel shows off that he is clearly the best pick, he could still get by the Astros, but the Cubs and Rockies have good relationships with Boras, so one of them would pick him up.

Is Stanford still abusing the crap out of his arm? That's one thing that concerns me with Appel.

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Originally Posted by maxisagod

No not anymore, to be honest they did more Damage then good sometimes. If Appel shows off that he is clearly the best pick, he could still get by the Astros, but the Cubs and Rockies have good relationships with Boras, so one of them would pick him up.

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I think you nailed it. If Appel, or Manaea for that matter, pitch like aces all year they wont be there at 4. All three teams above the Twins need pitching.

The real question is, for the people out there who think the Twins HAVE to take a pitcher, what if Appel, Manaea, and Stanek go 1-2-3 in some order? As I say this while Appel/Manaea have pitched like aces Stanek hasn't really impressed so far.

Best player available. Period.

Appel or Manaea fall to us at number 4, but we have to take whomever our scouts have rated the highest. Is there another Buxton out there? There is a lot of baseball to be played this spring before the draft. Who knows what player is going to step up and put together a phenomial season.

Oh, I 100% agree that we need to take the BPA no matter what position but there are a lot of Twins fans that are still mad we took Buxton over a college arm last year. If the Twins took Clint Frazier, this years Buxton, peoples heads might explode.

While there is still a long way to go there have just been so many injuries this year, on top of this being a weak draft.Outside of Appel/Manaea no one is really separating themselves from the pack. It would just be nice if the Twins get lucky two years in a row and get the top talent again!

I hear that Appel may be represented by Scott Boras' Russian Alter-Ego along with his evil assistant Natasha Fatale. I don't think Boris will want Appel to fall far from his tree to anywhere near Frostbite Falls.

The Twins (like most everybody else) have critical needs at: starting pitching, power hitting, and shortstop. The Twins have also stated that "[we're] going to do this the 'right' way..."--so we must conclude that there will not be any "top-flight" free-agent signed. Thus, the Twins must meet their critical needs in the amateur draft or exchange multiple "prospects" like KC. If this presumed BPA isn't one of the above, they have wasted their pick--especially when this draft is projected to be thin on talent.

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Originally Posted by diehardtwinsfan

If 2014 is super deep, then yes, I'd draft Appel. I'd also do what Houston did and grab a couple more tough signs in later rounds. If Appel doesn't go for slot (or slightly over), then I take that money and throw it at them, but no way would I draft Appel and then not sign anyone else. Unless he's the second coming of Santana, you just don't do that.

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Maybe I am misunderstanding your idea, or the new CBA, but I don't think this is possible. If we draft Appel and he doesn't sign, his slot money can't be reapportioned to other picks - it disappears. You can only shift money among picks if a person signs for under slot. We do get an additional pick in the next year's draft, but it wouldn't help us in this year's draft.

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Originally Posted by sbknudson

Maybe I am misunderstanding your idea, or the new CBA, but I don't think this is possible. If we draft Appel and he doesn't sign, his slot money can't be reapportioned to other picks - it disappears. You can only shift money among picks if a person signs for under slot. We do get an additional pick in the next year's draft, but it wouldn't help us in this year's draft.

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You are 100% correct on this sb. If a player doesn't sign, his money is removed from the bonus pool and can't be used anywhere else.

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Originally Posted by cmb0252

I think you nailed it. If Appel, or Manaea for that matter, pitch like aces all year they wont be there at 4. All three teams above the Twins need pitching.

The real question is, for the people out there who think the Twins HAVE to take a pitcher, what if Appel, Manaea, and Stanek go 1-2-3 in some order? As I say this while Appel/Manaea have pitched like aces Stanek hasn't really impressed so far.

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According to Mayo at MLB.com, the other three pitchers in his top 10 are two HS pitchers (Stewart and Ball, although Ball might be an OFer) and Florida junior Jonathan Crawford. I have no idea how well Crawford is doing now. Besides the two Georgia prep guys, there's also a good college third baseman who could jump up to #4, Kris Bryant. And obviously a few other guys will end up in strong consideration for #4.

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Originally Posted by gunnarthor

According to Mayo at MLB.com, the other three pitchers in his top 10 are two HS pitchers (Stewart and Ball, although Ball might be an OFer) and Florida junior Jonathan Crawford. I have no idea how well Crawford is doing now. Besides the two Georgia prep guys, there's also a good college third baseman who could jump up to #4, Kris Bryant. And obviously a few other guys will end up in strong consideration for #4.

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Those are pretty much the names but this already weak draft has been hit pretty hard with injuries already. Stewart is out with a football injury, Whitsons out for the year, and Austin Wilson is out for awhile. All preseason top 10 type guys.

Put me in the camp of not being a fan of Ball or Crawford at all. While Crawford has two plus pitches, upper 90s fastball and slider, I have just read too many reports that say because of his delivery he might end up a RP. Ball just has too many question marks for me to like him at 4. Don't get me wrong, both these guys have plenty of time to prove me wrong but right now...gross!

If none of the top 3 arms are around, currently the top 3 specs IMO of the draft, my hope is that Bryant and/or Moran prove they can be 3B. If not, the Twins might be taking another toolsy Georgia outfielder!

I think there is a good chance the Cubs take Appel. I didn't even think about that.

If, when the Twins pick, there is nobody who is clearly the BPA, would they be wiser to sign somebody who would take less than slot and try to use the savings throughout the draft similar to what the Astros did last year? I don't know much about the depth of the draft, but it seems from the discussion that the top end talent is not particularly impressive.

Put me in the camp of wishing they had Appel right now, and not Buxton, but not so much that it makes me mad. I just think Appel has a high probability of being a legit number 2/3 starting pitcher. Buxton is so far away, the odds of him being great are smaller, even if his ceiling seems higher.

As for BPA, I guess I'd ask what that means....how big would the delta need to be between a HS kid that is 5 years away, and a college pitcher that you are pretty sure is going to work out (as sure as you can really be.....)? I mean, it's not like any of the players last year were Harper or Strasburg.

If they lose out on the big two starting pitchers this year, I find it hard to figure out where the starting pitchers are likely to come from. The best players are usually, usually, taken early in the draft. If you have high picks three years in a row, and you take HS outfielders every time, just where do the number 1/2 type pitchers come from?