Giving It the Old College Try, Again?

With the All-Star Game here, there will not be all that much Pirate related news, at least game related, as they are off until Friday. Fortunately MLB has put the signing deadline in here to fill out the week. That means plenty of Mark Appel rumors.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports gets it started by saying that Appel is leaning towards going back to Stanford.

Appel had been expected to go first in the draft but instead fell seven spots where the Pirates gambled they could sign him despite the limitations of their allotted pool money. The Pirates are said to be offering Appel about $3.8 million, which is the maximum they can offer without losing their No. 1 pick next year.
Appel seems likely now to pass on the Pirates' offer, and hope to be picked higher next June. His father is a lawyer with Chevron, so he has the luxury to wait if he prefers.

I like how he states that Appel's father is a big shot lawyer, so if baseball does not work out he can live off his dad.

Within minutes of the story getting posted, many were already questioning the motives of the article. Mainly some see this as a ploy by Boras to perhaps apply some heat. Many have noted that Jon Heyman is a veritable mouthpiece for Boras, which was documented here.

Personally I am not going to lose a lot of sleep over Appel. Sure it will suck to not get him, but at the same time, I do not see any player, outside a once in a lifetime type guy (Strasburg, Harper) that would be worth foreiting a pick over. Mark Appel is not one of those type of players. Sure it sucks for him that he cannot get a ton of bonus money, but there is not much anyone can do about that.

I had outlined before that he has no real leverage. Essentially sign now for what he can get and get to free agency closer or roll the dice. History rather scattered on guys that try to go back for more. For every J.D. Drew you have a Matt Harrington. If it were me, I would take the money and run, but perhaps Appel knows better. Perhaps Boras is trying anything. What ever the case is, this will likely be the first in a long running story line this week.