Draft Profile: Mark Appel

Player Name: Mark Appel

Position: RHP

School: Stanford University (’13)

Height/Weight:  6’5/200 lbs.

Bats/Throws:  R/R

Previously Drafted:  2009, 15th Rd, Detroit Tigers

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Scouting Report:

RHP Mark Appel is making his case to be the #1 pick of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. The 6’5 ace boasts maturity, velocity, and durability, which brings about a dependency that all 30 major league teams are looking for. Generally speaking, Appel pounds the zone in the 93-96 mph range and tops out at 98-99. The velocity is there without a doubt, and his clean delivery, good command, and quick arm all serve for greater reasons to draft him. He has above average movement on his change-up and 2-seam fastball, but he is better known for his slider. It has been said to be a “swing and miss” slider that seems to disappear quick. He has averaged 8 innings per start this season (48.0 innings/6 starts), and has posted a 3-1 record. His ERA is at 3.34 right now, but don’t be fooled. He has only given up two long-balls all season, and his hitters have a .201 opposing batting average on him. Appel has gotten the win against Vanderbilt University (8-3 final), University of Texas (5-0 final), and the University of Southern California (USC) (4-2 final). His only loss comes to Fresno State University, who managed to get off 7 earned runs to beat the Cardinals 7-4 in Fresno, California. Appel is without a doubt one of the most talented athletes in the draft this season, and it will be interesting to see how his season ends.

Draft Prep Lefty Matt Smoral Out 12-14 Weeks

The imposing 6 foot 8 lefty out of Solon HS in Ohio has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to an injury to his right foot. LHP Matt Smoral has struggled with a broken right foot over the past few years, and he will now have surgery on the fourth metatarsal of his right foot tomorrow (Friday, April 6, 2012). Personally, I viewed Smoral as a high to middle first round pick, but I’m not sure how much this will affect his draft stock.

This has been the year of injuries for draft preps. Future Major-Leaguers such as Lucas Giolito (RHP/CA), CJ Hinojosa (SS/TX), Fernelys Sanchez (OF/NY), and Victor Roache (OF/Georgia Southern) have all faced injuries that could slate them all for the remainder of this season. If anyone has the voodoo dolls for these young stars, please stop poking them! It’s sad to see so many talented young athletes get hurt and lose draft stock, along with their last year of high school or college baseball.

Smoral brings a hard 90-93 mph fastball that tops out 94-95, along with a filthy slider when he doesn’t get around it. The slider and the change-up are similarly in the 81-84 range. Because he is a 6’8 big pitcher, Smoral has had moments where he falls off the mound, just like any other big pitcher in high school. In his defense, Smoral has enough athleticism to fix this issue and still be a dominating pitcher. Baseball America noted that Smoral travelled down to Texas this year to train with fellow draft-prep righty Mitchell Traver, who is also a tall guy (6’7). The two seemed to become friends along the path of high school baseball and according to the article by Nathan Rode and Conor Glassey, they are in communication with each other following their starts to talk pitching. Matt is an outstanding player as well as an outstanding person, and it is tough to see his season cut short.

Latest News: Injuries, News, and More

It’s been 2 1/2 months and plenty has happened since the first post on here. Let’s recap some of the biggest stories of the year already…

LUCAS GIOLITO INJURY

6’6” Righty Lucas Giolito injured his ulnar collateral ligament early in the season that will most likely slate him for the year. Questions are flying around whether this will hurt his draft stock or not, but in my opinion, he’s still a top 10 pick and will sign with whichever team drafts him.

CJ HINOJOSA INJURY

Superstar Infielder out of Spring, Texas, CJ Hinojosa injured his shoulder and is out until June-July which will most likely hurt his draft stock. He had already planned to attend Texas early, but there was a mix-up with credits so he went back to high school to graduate, and will most likely be attending the University of Texas next year. Not to worry though, he’ll be a first-rounder out of college if he can stay healthy without a doubt in my mind.

FERNELYS SANCHEZ INJURY

Lighting-fast outfielder Fernelys Sanchez, who runs a 6.27 60-yard dash, fractured his fibula and is out at least a month. What a disappointing loss for George Washington High School in New York, NY. As Fernelys is committed to Central Arizona CC, I presume he will be signing in the draft even if he drops a few rounds or loses some digits.

USA BASEBALL NHSI A HIT

USA Baseball introduced its first National High School Invitational Tournament (NHSI). Some of the top teams in the nation included Mater Dei (CA), Harvard-Westlake (CA), Corpus Christi Carroll (TX), and Bishop Gorman (NV) met in North Carolina for a tournament for the ages. MLB scouts packed in for four days to watch some great baseball as some of the best prospects including LHP Max Fried, OF/RHP Courtney Hawkins, RHP Lucas Sims, 3B/RHP Joey Gallo, and 2013-grad C Jeremy Martinez compete against each other. Mater Dei (CA) defeated Harvard-Westlake (CA) in extra innings with a final score of 3-2.

WEBSITE NEWS

I would like to formally announce that I will be working hard to stay up to date with the draft as it nears. We are currently 2 months and 1 day (62 days) from the first day of the MLB Draft! If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, feel free to email me at hsbaseballfanatic@yahoo.com. Thank you!

MLB Mock Draft 2012: Round 1 (with Supplemental)

Pick #              Team:                                      Pick:                                      

1                      Houston Astros                     RHP Mark Appel (Stanford)

2                      Minnesota Twins                   RHP Lucas Giolito (HS)

3                      Seattle Mariners                    OF Byron Buxton (HS)

4                      Baltimore Orioles                  MIF Carlos Correa (HS)

5                      Kansas City Royals               MIF Deven Marrero (Arizona State)

6                      Chicago Cubs                      RHP Kevin Gausman (LSU)

7                      San Diego Padres                 LHP Max Fried (HS)

8                      Pittsburgh Pirates                 3B Trey Williams (HS)

9                      Miami Marlins                       C Mike Zunino (Florida)

10                   Colorado Rockies                 RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (HS)

11                   Oakland Athletics                 RHP Walker Weickel (HS)

12                   New York Mets                     LHP Matt Smoral (HS)

13                   Chicago White Sox               C Stryker Trahan (HS)

14                   Cincinnati Reds                    RHP Mitchell Traver (HS)

15                   Cleveland Indians                  OF David Dahl (HS)

16                   Washington Nationals           3B Joey Gallo (HS)

17                   Toronto Blue Jays                 RHP Michael Wacha (Texas A&M)

18                   Los Angeles Dodgers            1B Christian Walker (South Carolina)

19                   St. Louis Cardinals*               3B Gavin Cecchini (HS)

20                   San Francisco Giants             LHP Hunter Virant (HS)

21                   Atlanta Braves                       1B Keon Barnum (HS)

22                   Toronto Blue Jays*                3B Rio Ruiz (HS)

23                   St. Louis Cardinals                MIF Kenny Diekroeger (Stanford)

24                   Boston Red Sox                    RHP Duane Underwood (HS)

25                   Tampa Bay Rays                   LHP Brian Johnson (Florida)

26                   Arizona Diamondbacks         OF Nick Williams (HS)

27                   Detroit Tigers                         OF Jesse Winker (HS)

28                   Milwaukee Brewers              RHP Jake Barrett (Arizona State)

29                   Texas Rangers                      OF Courtney Hawkins (HS)

30                   New York Yankees               OF Tyler Naquin (Texas A&M)

31                   Boston Red Sox*                   RHP Taylore Cherry (HS)

- End of First Round…Start of First Supplemental Round-

32                   Minnesota Twins*                 C Josh Elander (TCU)

33                   San Diego Padres*               OF Rhett Wiseman (HS)

34                   Oakland Athletics*                MIF Alex Bregman (HS)

35                   New York Mets*                    RHP Chris Beck (Buffalo)

36                   St. Louis Cardinals*              OF Victor Roache (Georgia Southern)

37                   Boston Red Sox*                  RHP Clate Schmidt (HS)

38                   Texas Rangers*                    MIF C.J. Hinojosa (HS)

39                   Houston Astros*                    RHP Cody Poteet (HS)

40                   Minnesota Twins*                  RHP Marcus Stroman (Duke)

41                   Chicago Cubs*                     OF Jameis Winston (HS)

42                   San Diego Padres*               OF Travis Jankowski (Stony Brook)

43                   Pittsburgh Pirates*               1B Richie Shaffer (Clemson)

44                   Colorado Rockies*               OF Albert Almora (HS)

45                   Oakland Athletics*                RHP Ty Hensley (HS)

46                   Chicago White Sox*             LHP Lex Rutledge (Samford)

47                   Cincinnati Reds*                  RHP Lucas Sims (HS)

48                   Toronto Blue Jays*              3B Stephen Piscotty (Stanford)

49                   Los Angeles Dodgers*          C Nelson Rodriguez (HS)

50                   St. Louis Cardinals*            2B Tommy Coyle (UNC)

51                   Texas Rangers*                  LHP Austin Fairchild (HS)

52                   Toronto Blue Jays*             1B Adam Brett Walker (Jacksonville)

53                   Toronto Blue Jays*             3B Carson Kelly (HS)