MLB: Appel turned down $6 million bonus from Astros

Stanford RHP Mark Appel, the Pirates first round pick, lost a lot of money, falling out of the projected top-5 and to the Pirates to No. 8.

Appel who is advised by Scott Boras, appears to have made his own bed. According to a report from Tom Krasovic, formerly of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Appel turned down $6 million from the Astros, who after that opted to go in another direction. Appel turning down the below recommended slot offer ($7.2 million) is not a surprise, but the Boras camp surely thought Appel was still going to go in the first three or four picks.

Appel turning down $6 million is problematic from the standpoint that the Pirates draft pool is only $6.6 million and the team will be hard pressed to offer more than $4.5 million.

There’s little to no chance the Pirates can go close to the $6 million Appel would have received from the Astros.

While signability is believed to be the main reason Appel fell to No. 8, Appel doesn’t standout above the rest of the top pitching class as a “must have pick” and that could have also played a part.

Buster Olney of ESPN reports that in speaking to executives not with the Pirates, some teams told Olney that Appel was drafted about where they had him on their boards, at No. 8.