Pirates Draft Mark Appel: Neal Huntington and Scott Boras Are Now on the Clock

Scott Boras is the master.  He prepares like no other super agent in the game.  We can’t blame him.  After Mark Appel fell from the top overall pick in the 2012 draft into the lap of Neal Huntington and the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was easy to see the groundwork had already been laid.

It’s probably in the very back of the Boras manual, under “Emergency Preparations.”  After we picked our chin up from the bar floor, we knew there was some work to do.  We had articles prepared on who we thought the Bucs would take, but those were of no use to us now.  What a shocker.

So, as we tried to wipe the smile from our face, we thought about our first step in finding out more about Appel.  “Aha!” we thought to ourselves,  “Let’s check out Appel’s twitter account!”

Hmm… interesting avatar.  He loves Christ.  Cool.  We need all the prayers we can get for the Buccos!

What is the big right-hander’s twitter handle?   Oh, look at this…..

Refined.  Clean.  Efficient.  God, we love this kid and we trust he can pitch exactly like this.  Doesn’t the Lord work in mysterious ways?

But then it got strange when we went to the timeline.  Dead.  Silence.

Shit.

The silence continued,  hours after Appel plummeted from atop everyone’s mock draft boards…. and then, finally,  a statement was released.  Appel wouldn’t speak with the Pittsburgh media.  Nice.

"“I’m currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time.”"

Well, that’s some great writing, Mr. Boras.  In other words – after the free fall, all the leverage that Appel and Boras have is the possibility of a return to Stanford for Appel’s senior season.

Neal Huntington countered the silence with the following statement:

"“Our worst-case scenario is the ninth pick next June.  Best-case scenario, he joins Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon and all the pitching in our system. I’m optimistic we have a legitimate shot to sign him.”"

In other words, it’s on.  We will take Huntington.  We love his chances.