Brian McTaggart tweeted out that the Astros are likely going to take a college player with the 1.1 pick, with Mark Appel at the top of their draft board - at least for now.
In the tweet, McTaggart includes a link to Jonathan Mayo's Day Before column, which shows little separation between Appel and Jonathan Gray.
Mayo, on Appel:
He had a better season as a senior and it seems likely he will hear his
name called in one of the first few picks. The Astros didn't take him
last year, though, leading many to believe they won't select him this
time around, either.
I don't know how much I believe that. Given the hard slotting and bonus pool in play for the first time last year, the Astros knew that Appel/Boras wouldn't take the $6m they offered - that's why they drafted Carlos Correa. So why would Appel take $3.8m seven picks later? Maybe the Astros didn't know that Appel would be available at 1.1 in 2013, but they probably knew Appel/Boras wouldn't panic and take a lot less money from another team.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
