Mark Appel. Twelve months before the draft, the polished Stanford right-hander was the favorite to be picked first overall. 24 hours before the draft, nothing had changed: insiders reported that the Houston Astros would pick Appel first. But his name didn't come out of commissioner Bud Selig's mouth at the podium. Instead, he announced Carlos Correa, the dynamic shortstop from Puerto Rico. With Appel unwilling to back down from his bonus demands in a new era of draft spending limits, he slid all the way to #8, where the Pittsburgh Pirates called his name. After three straight years of drafts where the first overall pick held no drama (thanks a lot, Gerrit Cole, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg), this kind of shock at #1 was certainly welcome. And it meant nothing but good news for...
The Houston Astros. A floundering franchise paid the price for ignoring the draft for a decade. Now, former Cardinals architect Jeff Luhnow is in charge, and his positive impact was immediate. Rather than pay top-dollar for The Industry's Consensus Pick at #1 overall, Mark Appel, Luhnow went with five-tool, 17-year-old shortstop Carlos Correa instead. Then, with their second pick at #41 overall, the Astros were able to snag high school pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., an explosive righty who easily could've gone in the top ten. And if they sign him, it'll be because of the money saved by passing on Appel for Correa. No team got more raw talent with their first few picks than the rebuilding Astros, except perhaps for...
The Toronto Blue Jays. GM Alex Anthopolous has established himself as one of MLB's most aggressive drafters, and even with the new restrictions, he did nothing to change his reputation. With five picks in the first and supplementary rounds, Anthopolous ended up with D.J. Davis (blazing fast high-school outfielder), Marcus Stroman (a small college righty destined for bullpen dominance), Matthew Smoral (huge high school lefty pitcher), Mitch Nay (a high school third baseman with big power), and Tyler Gonzales (a high school right-hander with an inconsistent but electric arm). An amazing haul. The Blue Jays won't sign everyone, but as usual, they'll walk away from this draft with some impact talents. It's one of the two most predictable draft strategies around, along with...
The Washington Nationals. They employ the simplest of strategies: pick the best talent available, regardless of scary bonus demands, scary injuries, or any other scary red flag. 2012 was no different: picking at #16 overall, the Nats went with high school right-hander Lucas Giolito. With a fastball that hits 100 mph, Giolito might've gone first overall were it not for an injury to an elbow ligament that ended his season prematurely. That makes it four consecutive years where the Nationals might have gotten the best talent available: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and now Giolito. A remarkable streak, almost as remarkable as one orchestrated by...
Billy Beane. Remarkably, the A's haven't selected a high schooler in the first round since Jeremy Bonderman in 2001, and GM Billy Beane even hated that pick. So, of course, Oakland chose three high school infielders with its first three picks this year. Couple this development with their signing of toolsy Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes last winter, and it's pretty obvious that the A's philosophy is undergoing a significant makeover, just like...
The MLB Draft itself. The jury is still out on the changes to the system. Small-market teams like the Pirates and the Nationals used to be able to throw gobs of money at the draft to find the elite talent they can't afford in the free agent market. It was the only way to stay competitive against large payrolls. But now, with draft spending capped and subject to harsh penalties, they can't do that anymore. With only a fixed pool of money available to spend, Pittsburgh will need to skimp on the rest of its draft class in order to afford Mark Appel; ditto with Washington and Lucas Giolito. It's almost like those teams are punished for taking the best talent available. Furthermore, there's concern that the spending limits will drive two-way high school athletes to football and basketball, because teams can't dish out as many six-figure bonuses to prep players now. And finally, teams can't trade draft picks, which takes some drama out of the whole thing.
So yes, it's a work in progress. But the MLB Draft is still the best way for teams to build a championship roster. And it's still a pretty cool event.
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