Draft Notes: Gray, Appel

The 2013 Rule 4 draft takes place on June 6th, with the Astros, Cubs, Rockies, Twins, and Indians taking the first five picks.  You can check out the full draft order here.  The latest draft info:

• 6-foot-4, 240 pound Oklahoma righty Jonathan Gray is shooting up draft boards.  ESPN's Keith Law had him eighth on March 14th, but now has him as the clear number two player behind another college righty, Stanford's Mark Appel.  Gray, who hit 101 in several recent games according to scouts who talked to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, was drafted by the Royals in the 13th round in 2010 and the Yankees in the 10th round in 2011, and now projects to go very early in the 2013 draft.  Oklahoma head baseball coach Sunny Golloway told ESPN's Teddy Mitrosilis, "He's going to Houston or the Cubs, No. 1 or No. 2."
• Appel is "still clearly the best player in this draft," in the eyes of Law.  Law wonders if the Astros or Cubs can "try to work out a deal less than the recommended bonus number but more than the figure Appel turned down from the Pirates last year ($3.8 million), with the carrot of a big league callup in September if he throws well after signing."  Appel is an advisee of the Boras Corporation.
• Prep outfielder Austin Meadows, college lefty Sean Manaea, and prep righty Kohl Stewart are the next three players on Law's draft board, which is ranks players by talent and upside and is not a mock draft.