Draft Notes: Moran, Gray, Astros, Appel, Twins

Third baseman Colin Moran is shooting up draft boards and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that he could even go first overall to the Astros.  Could the UNC product jump past both Jonathan Gray and Mark Appel to be the top choice in the 2013 draft?  Here's today's draft links..

• Senior scouting officials from the Astros met with Gray during the recent Big 12 Tournament, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.
• Appel made the right call in not taking the Pirates' offer in 2012 and re-entering the draft this year, suggest sources of ESPN's Jason Churchill.
• The latest mock draft from Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) has Moran slated to go to the Astros.  Law doesn't think Houston will make a formal decision on the pick until Thursday, but the buzz within the industry has them leaning towards Moran.  The reasoning is that the third baseman's next-best alternative is to go No. 5 to Cleveland, where his slot value is less than $3.8MM.  Because of that, the Astros could offer him about $4MM or so and know he'd accept it.  The value of the No. 1 pick is $7.2MM, which would leave the Astros with enough to grab top talents who fall to picks 40 and 74.  They could take Gray but they wouldn't pocket much by doing that and they're not on Clint Frazier or Kris Bryant.  Appel doesn't seem to be one of their top two options either.  Also noteworthy – Law's scenario has Gray falling to the Indians at No. 5.
• Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com's mock draft has Gray going No. 1 followed by Appel and Bryant.  At No. 4, Mayo now has right-hander Kohl Stewart going to the Twins.  Yesterday, Twins VP Mike Radcliff told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN that he won't rule out Stewart due to his diabetes.