The Astros had scouted Mark Appel for two years before making the Houston native the first overall selection in the 2013 amateur draft, reports Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros passed on the Stanford right-hander with the top pick in 2012, but Appel's stuff and performance were too much for the club to pass up this time around. Here's some more notes from the draft..
- The Red Sox expect to sign their first rounder Trey Ball (7th overall) and their second-round choice Teddy Stankiewicz (45th overall) to bonuses less than the slot recommendation, multiple industy sources have told WEEI.com's Alex Speier. This would allow the Red Sox to make an aggressive above slot offer to third-round selection Jon Denney, who was viewed as a likely first-round pick. Speier notes the high school catcher was invited to the day one broadcast of the draft on MLB Network and earned the distinction of being the only invited player not taken in the first two rounds. Denney, who has a commitment to Arkansas, was the 81st overall selection, which carries a slot recommendation of $671,200 (per Baseball America).
- The Diamondbacks prioritized advanced pitching and athleticism with their selections, writes Tyler Emerick of MLB.com. Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery was pleasantly surprised Braden Shipley was available when the club first picked at No. 15, since the Nevada right-hander was thought to go much earlier.
- The Cardinals focused on cost-certainty and upside, according to Chad Thornburg of MLB.com. The club approached the draft with a specific plan, and Cardinals scouting director Dan Kantrovitz was "thrilled" with the way things worked out, "Based on saving some money yesterday [Friday] through some more cost-certainty maneuvers, we could then translate that into some higher-upside guys early on [Saturday]."
- Although the Brewers did not have a pick in the first round as compensation for signing Kyle Lohse, the club was still excited about the pitching they found in the draft, notes Kevin Massoth of MLB.com. The Brewers selected high school right-hander Devin Williams with their first pick, No. 54 overall.
- Meanwhile the Padres like the hitting the club was able to snatch up over the last three days, reports Jamal Collier of MLB.com. The club used five of their first six selections on position players, including the 13th overall pick, Mississippi State outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
