Mark Appel?

[darin617]

So it should seem that the Twins should now take Mark Appel.

[Einstein]

Seattle passes on him too, I think the Boras thing is holding him back some now.

[darin617]

I guess it is not a good thing for a player to have Scott Boras as an agent. I doubt he makes it past the Cubs at #6.

[ashbury]

So it should seem that the Twins should now take Mark Appel.

If he's still there at 32, I concur.

[Gernzy]

I orignally wanted him when Houston pasted on him. Today I'm glad we stuck with Buxton. Boras has screwed over Appel. I don't even see him signing with the Pirates. Appel didn't sound happy that they took him, why would he want to come here?

[Boom Boom]

It would appear that the Twins and Astros weren't the only teams not sold on Appel. And I think the Boras angle is overblown.

 

I've heard conflicting reports on Appel's velocity, from mid-90s to high-90s. And there was that story in the Strib last week about Appel being "too nice" to pitch inside.

[Puckmen]

I have seen Appel pitch in person 6 times this year (live close to Stanford). There is no issue with his velocity...he routinely throws 94-95 and can hit 97 whenever he wants (but he does dial it down to 91 when he needs to throw a strike). The concerns (based on conversations with scouts at these games) are lack of movement of his fastball and the lack of a top-notch secondary pitch (his breaking pitch is hard to describe...sort of a hybrid curve/slider). That said, the last game he pitched for Stanford in the NCAA regional last weekend was pretty incredible as he was pretty much unhittable for the first 6 innings and cruised to a complete game 4-hitter with 11 K's.

 

The only pitcher I saw play at Sunken Diamond (Stanford's baseball stadium) this season who threw harder than Appel was Chargois of Rice. He hit 99 with many of his fastballs and was fun to watch.

[Nick Nelson]

I have seen Appel pitch in person 6 times this year (live close to Stanford). There is no issue with his velocity...he routinely throws 94-95 and can hit 97 whenever he wants (but he does dial it down to 91 when he needs to throw a strike). The concerns (based on conversations with scouts at these games) are lack of movement of his fastball and the lack of a top-notch secondary pitch (his breaking pitch is hard to describe...sort of a hybrid curve/slider). That said, the last game he pitched for Stanford in the NCAA regional last weekend was pretty incredible as he was pretty much unhittable for the first 6 innings and cruised to a complete game 4-hitter with 11 K's.

 

The only pitcher I saw play at Sunken Diamond (Stanford's baseball stadium) this season who threw harder than Appel was Chargois of Rice. He hit 99 with many of his fastballs and was fun to watch.

Good insight here, thanks for sharing.

[Shane Wahl]

Interesting to note the Chargois sighting! That's something to look forward to out of this "situation" so far.

[Gernzy]

If Chargois can hit 99 and actually locate that pitch? Watch out Capps we got someone hunting for your job!

[DaTwins]

How do you think you pronounce Chargois?

[J-Dog Dungan]

From what i read on MLBTradeRumors, Appel slid because he declined the $6 million contract that the Astros offered him. Also, the 3rd round pick for the Dodgers, Onelkis Garcia, clearly doesn't know much about the new draft rules if he is asking for a $7 MILLION SIGNING BONUS as the 133RD PICK! What the hell is up with that?

[Gernzy]

From what i read on MLBTradeRumors, Appel slid because he declined the $6 million contract that the Astros offered him. Also, the 3rd round pick for the Dodgers, Onelkis Garcia, clearly doesn't know much about the new draft rules if he is asking for a $7 MILLION SIGNING BONUS as the 133RD PICK! What the hell is up with that?

I'm so glad the Astros said no to Appel. Scott Boras has been destorying salaries for years and teams and standing up to him. He is only hurting his client at this point. I'd be shocked if the Pirates sign Appel at this point. Boras has warped that boy.

[IdahoPilgrim]

Is anybody really shocked that Appel turned down an underslot offer? That being said, I don't see how the Pirates sign him - even if he did a 180 and took $6M, that would just about wipe out Pittsburgh's bonus pool.