Mark Appel turned down an over-slot offer of $3.8 million to remain at Stanford
This story originally appears at Baseball News Source
The 5:00 PM deadline for 2012 MLB draft selections to sign contracts passed Friday afternoon and Stanford RHP Mark Appel declined to sign his tender with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The number-eight overall draft pick and Scott Boras ‘advisee’ was the only first-round selection (31 players total) to go unsigned by the time of Friday’s deadline. Appel will return to Stanford for his senior season and figures to try his luck again in next summer’s draft.
Projected by some to be the top pick, the right-hander was selected eighth by the Pirates. That pick has a signing slot of $2.9 million in baseball’s new labor contract, and the team could have signed him for about $3.5 million to $3.9 million without incurring any penalties, such as a tax and the loss of future draft picks.
Pittsburgh’s final offer was $3.8 million.
“After much thought, prayer and analysis of both opportunities, I came to the conclusion the best decision is to remain at Stanford continuing my studies, finishing my degree, and doing all I can to assist the Cardinal baseball team in our goal to win a national championship,” Appel said in a statement. “I greatly valued the prospect of a professional opportunity and I will pursue a professional baseball career after getting my Stanford degree.”
Appel’s name was thrown around as a potential number-one overall pick prior to being drafted, but the pitcher fell down the board as teams ahead of Pittsburgh were thought to have known that if there were an agent who would stand up to MLB’s new slotting system (read: the one that puts a cap on his or her commission as well as player contracts), it would be Boras.
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