It’s draft season in the National Football League, whose three-day festivities got underway Thursday. That got me to thinking about recent No. 1 draft picks in Major League Baseball. If we turn back the clock seven years to 2013, we find one of the biggest disappointments the event has seen in its history. With the top overall choice, the Astros selected Stanford right-hander Mark Appel. It was the second straight year in which Appel went in the first round of the draft, as the Pirates took him at No. 8 in 2012. Appel didn’t sign with Pittsburgh, which at least proved to be the right financial move. He was unwilling to accept the Pirates’ $3.8MM offer, but the Astros’ $6.35MM proposal the next year got the job done.
Unfortunately for Houston, it didn’t get sufficient return on its lofty investment. However, that’s not to place blame on the Astros for betting on Appel. After all, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote when the Astros signed him: “Appel was ranked as the top prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Baseball America had him pegged as the second-best prospect in his class, behind Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray, who went No. 3 to the Rockies.”
Appel clearly wasn’t some out-of-the-box pick for Houston, but he has nonetheless been a disappointment. While Appel did advance to the Triple-A level with the Astros organization in 2015, when he pitched to a 4.48 ERA over 68 1/3 innings, that was the end of the line with the Houston franchise. The Astros subsequently used Appel as part of the five-player package they sent to the Phillies to acquire reliever Ken Giles in December 2015. The change of scenery didn’t work for Appel, who battled arm injuries and failed to log quality production in the Phillies’ system from 2016-17. He then decided to step away from baseball in the winter of 2018. The 28-year-old hasn’t pitched since.
Thanks in part to Appel’s struggles, the Phillies haven’t gotten much from the trade they made to land him. Three of the other players they received – lefty Brett Oberholtzer and righties Tom Eshelman and Harold Arauz – contributed either little or nothing as members of the organization. Righty Vince Velasquez has had his moments, though the 27-year-old has generally had difficulty preventing runs in Philadelphia.
The Astros at least got some good years from Giles, who pitched to a 3.57 ERA and amassed 61 saves in their uniform. Giles was also part of the Astros’ first-ever World Series-winning team in 2017, but the team’s title hardly came on account of him – he allowed 10 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings that postseason. In July 2018, the Astros traded Giles to the Blue Jays in a deal for fellow closer Roberto Osuna. Changing teams has worked out well for both pitchers, though Osuna’s not exactly a fan favorite. His acquisition came as he was in the midst of a 75-game suspension for a violation of the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.
Philadelphia and Toronto are among the teams that have felt some effect from the Astros’ Appel pick, but maybe no one has benefited more than the Cubs. They held the No. 2 selection in the Appel draft and ended up selecting a University of San Diego third baseman named Kris Bryant. If the Cubs had it their way, they’d have come away with Appel, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote in September 2016. Bullet dodged. Bryant won the NL MVP that year, his second of three All-Star seasons thus far, and helped the Cubs to their first World Series in 108 years. He has consistently been one of the premier players in the majors since he debuted in 2015, and has been a member of five teams that have won anywhere from 84 to 103 games per regular season.
For the most part, the Cubs have been wildly successful since they grabbed Bryant. But it’s interesting to wonder how well they’d have done from 2015-19 had Appel fallen to them instead. And what of the Astros? Yes, there were sign-stealing violations involved, but despite missing on Appel, they were an elite team from 2017-19. How much scarier would they have been (and would they be now) had they taken Bryant No. 1? Would they have still selected third baseman Alex Bregman at No. 2 in the 2015 draft?
It’s fun to consider the what-if scenarios, but it’s unfortunate how Appel’s career has gone. Unless he returns to baseball and makes a considerable impact, he’ll be remembered as a No. 1 pick gone wrong. He’s on track to become just the third top selection to retire without ever having played in the majors.
The Astros just need to keep investing in cameras and buzzers. You can win the World Series and not get punished
They should use steroids like the Red Sox and NY Yankees. It can get you in the HOF just ask Derek Jeter and pretty soon David Ortiz
Or just do both, or so Jeff Bagwell says…
Where do u get jeter using steroids.
well you see, he played with jose canseco for 2 months, so he totally took roids, y’all (sarcasm, but wouldn’t surprise me if that guy thinks that way).
funny enough, in his book, canseco said if he had to bet on one person in baseball being clean, it was jeter (and also said he didn’t rank jeter as high up as other shortstops, but if he just got on roids, he could be so much better than he already was).
Jeter was a defensive liability but but all accounts a clean one.
Papi however is in the Bonds level roider club.
You think Roger Clemens,Gary Sheffield,Jason Giambi,Andy Pettitte,Jason Grimsley,Chucky, Cano,Melky,Arod all we’re clean? Canseco was teammates with Clemens for 3 years so clearly that means Roger Clemens never used Roids. People wonder how Braun was using well he had the U connection with Arod in Miami. Explain why Jeter’s head got bigger over his career? Explain why he cheated on his taxes in NY claiming Yankee Stadium was in Tampa while living in Trump Tower. Sorry when you have so many teammates and good friends using.It’s kind of hard to believe you are that clueless and didn’t know considering the roid rage story about Clemens during 2000 WS.Derek Jeter in HOF shows the whole thing is a joke. They talk about class and character but they will allow him in when he lacks those things just like Ortiz. Yanks,Red Sox and Astros are proof that baseball is a legitimate sport as NBA or WWE is
actually manfred said any cheating from now on gets much more severe punishment
Did he say that before or after wagging his finger at Boston?
Let it go
Thought this was about the NFL Draft lol. Bad timing…
That trade was another Phillies front office disaster. Klentak and company stink at evaluating young talent.
to be fair VV was very well regarded at the time and haf the talent to be worth more than Giles alone. and if you don’t like Appel it was either him or Fisher as the final piece, and neither panned out.
It was him or fisher or they looked at younger prospects in the Astros organization. Klentak stinks at developing talent anyway so it’s likely a moot point. If he could develop his own draft picks—the Phillies would be better off.
Who were the other two #1s who never made it to the majors?
Steve Chilcotte and Brein Taylor
Brien Taylor in 91 by the Yankees and Steve Chilcott in 66 by the Mets
Thank you both for the info!
Billie Beene was a close the Mets almost took him 1st instead of strawberry but they dodged that bullet, he ended up playing something like 100 games for 4 teams if I recall correctly, maybe Appel will be a good GM some day. Really sad how things turned out for Brien Taylor, Chilcott was before my time so I can’t comment on that one.
In 1967, during his second season in the minor leagues, he injured his shoulder while playing for the Winter Haven Mets in the Florida State League. After reaching second base as a baserunner, he dove back toward the base when the pitcher tried to pick him off. As he dove back to the bag, he slammed into it with full force on his right arm, dislocating his shoulder and ending his season.
Chilcott was plagued by injuries for the rest of his baseball career. The Mets released him in 1971, and he signed with the New York Yankees. However, he was released after only playing 24 games in 1972, and his athletic career was over at age 24. Chilcott never played higher than Triple-A, and is one of only three retired number-one picks to have never played a major league game. (The others are Brien Taylor, the first overall pick in the 1991 draft, and Mark Appel, the first pick in the 2013 draft)
Wow, that just makes the ’69 Mets even more of a miracle!
not really costly given they won the world series anyway
Danny Goodwin. Was drafted first overall twice complete bust.
Any player that passes on first round money deserves to bust. To me means they care more about getting paid
I understood Appel passed because he wanted to not ply for Pittsburgh, given the state of that organization that may have been a decent choice. Then again he could have ended up like Cole had he lived to potential so maybe not.
First round money in the early 70’s? You would have been lucky to get $2k. That was before free agency. The players didn’t get paid jack back then.
Appel was as close as there was to a lock. Entered the year pegged #1 and dominated. I haven’t seen execs, scouts, and fans (including myself I was big on him) be that wrong on a guy.