UPDATE: Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Appel “just needs to put pen to paper,” so it appears that just some formalities stand in the way of a deal. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com also senses that a deal is close and writes that the Astros “wouldn’t have drafted Appel if they didn’t feel they could get a deal done quickly.”
2:36 PM: OK, maybe it’s not done yet. Contrary to Heyman’s report, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow tells Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle that “nothing’s changed” in negotiations with Appel. He expects talks to pick up next week.
2:28 PM: We heard yesterday that the Astros were nearing an agreement with No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel, but the deal is now done.
Exact terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes that it will “probably” be between $6 million-$6.5 million. Either way, that figures falls well short of the $7.79 million recommended slot value for the No. 1 pick. It’s a nice deal for the Astros, who can now use that savings to apply to their other draft picks.
Of course, the Astros passed on the chance to draft Appel last year, as he eventually fell to the Pirates at No. 8 overall. The Scott Boras client then turned down $3.8 million to return to Stanford for his senior season. The gamble paid off, as he worked his way back to the top of the draft board. While it’s a bit surprising to see a resolution this quickly, he didn’t have the alternative of returning to school this time around. It’s also worth noting that he’s a Houston native, so playing hardball with his hometown team may not have been high on his list of priorities.
Appel, 21, is armed with a mid-90s fastball to go along with a slider and a changeup. He’s expected to move quickly, and could make an impact with the Astros at some point in 2014.
