Friday night saw the 2013 college season debut of a former Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick. This pick is a pitcher, and passed on signing with the Pirates over money. He held to his high asking price, and when the Pirates decided they couldn’t meet that price they moved on to some later round players. The pitcher decided to try his luck again in the 2013 draft, hoping to get the money that he couldn’t get the first time around.
If you think I’m talking about Mark Appel, you’re wrong. Well, technically you’re right. That’s what happened with Appel. But in this case I’m talking about Austin Kubitza.
Kubitza was drafted in the seventh round of the 2010 draft. The right-hander wanted $2 M, which is a very high price for a seventh rounder, even under the old system. The Pirates didn’t match that, and Kubitza decided to go to Rice. He’s had an up and down career so far. He looked like a potential first rounder after his freshman year. Last year he dealt with some inconsistent performances, and saw his draft stock drop. On Friday night he coincidentally went up against Mark Appel, and out-pitched the 2012 first round pick. Kubitza threw six shutout innings, striking out 12.
Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game was there, and seemed to be impressed with Kubitza.
Through 7 in Houston, #Rice leads #Stanford 5-0. Final line on Austin Kubitza: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 12 K, 1 HBP. Tops 93. #mlbdraft
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 16, 2013
FYI — I will have an in-depth piece on Mark Appel and Austin Kubitza from tonight on Monday. Some great stuff on both, especially Kubitza.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 16, 2013
The matchup between Kubitza and Appel got me thinking. Well, the matchup and some of the comments I saw this weekend from Pirates fans about Appel. Pirates fans didn’t react well when Appel decided to go back to college. Appel wanted more money, the Pirates didn’t pay him that money, and he decided to go back to school. But isn’t that the same thing that happened with Kubitza? He wanted more money than the Pirates were willing to pay, and ended up going to college.
It was the same thing with 2010 sixth round pick Jason Hursh, who also had a good 2013 debut on Friday.
Was told #Oklahoma State RHP Jason Hursh was just terrific tonight vs. #UNM, allowing 2 R in 6 IP. His FB was up to 96, good cmnd. #mlbdraft
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) February 16, 2013
Kent Emanuel is another player from that 2010 draft who decided to go to college. Emanuel opened the year with a 106 pitch complete game shutout.
So why was and is there so much ire towards Appel, but nothing against those other picks? They all decided to go to college because the Pirates weren’t meeting their asking price.
Appel is different in a few ways. First, there’s the talent. He’s ranked higher than those three in every ranking. His upside is much greater. Plus, in 2010 people weren’t focused on Kubitza, Hursh, and Emanuel not signing. They were focused on Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie deciding to sign. In 2012 the main focus was on Appel, which only magnified his decision to go back to school. Kubitza, Hursh, or Emanuel would have been the third or fourth most important player from that draft, while Appel was the top player in his draft.
There’s also the new draft system. The Pirates might have been able to offer more money to the 2010 picks. Looking at their history, you can’t really argue that they were cheap in any way. They only set records the following year for the biggest bonus outside of the first round (Josh Bell) and the biggest bonus in the ninth round (Clay Holmes). That wasn’t the case with Appel. The Pirates couldn’t offer any more, unless they wanted to focus the entire draft around Appel, or wanted to face some strict penalties.
The Scott Boras factor probably plays here too. Then there’s the fact that the Pirates would have taken David Dahl — a top 50 prospect — if it wasn’t for Appel falling to them. There’s also the fact that guys like Kubitza and Hursh had the chance to move up much higher, while Appel could only move up a few spots.
When you get down to the basics, Appel didn’t get the money he wanted and decided to go back to school and try again in 2013. That’s the same thing Kubitza, Hursh, and Emanuel did. The circumstances and the talent surrounding those players just made Appel more important, which led to a bigger backlash. It’s kind of an ironic situation. If the Pirates selected one of the 2010 prep pitchers in 2013, I think most Pirates fans would be fine with it, even though technically those pitchers chose not to sign for the same reasons Appel didn’t sign.
That’s not saying Pirates fans should treat those three the same as Appel. It’s just noting that they were in the same situation as Appel, but the reaction to each situation has been extremely different. I’m actually saying Appel should be treated like those three. Sure, he meant more to the Pirates, and no one likes his agent, and he’s probably not signing the waiver to get drafted by the Pirates again (no clue if the other three have signed that waiver). In the end he made the exact same choice as the 2010 prep pitchers: go to college and re-enter the draft trying to get his asking price. I personally think it’s foolish on his part, but that’s his decision.
I don’t see a reason why Pirates fans should hold a grudge against Appel for that decision. They’ve got talented pitchers, so they weren’t relying on him. They also get a compensation pick this year, so they didn’t miss out on adding a first round talent. I say all of this on the same week that a San Diego Padres blog became infamous for celebrating the Karsten Whitson injury. That reminded me of some of the horrible reactions to Appel right after the signing deadline, and Appel getting a question earlier this year about Pirates fans booing him. That’s probably going to be inevitable throughout his career. But I don’t think it should be.
Links and Notes
**The 2013 Prospect Guide is now available. The 2013 Annual is also available for pre-sales. Go to the products page of the site and order your 2013 books today!
**Draft Prospect Watch: Austin Wilson Suffers Minor Injury.
**Pirates Sign A Minor League Catcher.
**Pirates Add Two Minor League Free Agents.
**Contract Notes: Karstens, J. Sanchez, G. Sanchez, Hawpe, Inge.
**From Friday Night: Draft Prospect Watch: College Schedule Starts With Appel/Kubitza Match-Up
**FanGraphs Releases Their Top 15 Pirates Prospects.
**Baseball Prospectus Predicts 79 Wins For the Pirates.
**Gerrit Cole Rated As a Top Impact Prospect for 2013.
