NECBL Stars Appel, Jagielo Selected in First Round
June 7, 2013 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
Stanford RHP Mark Appel, the 2010 New England Collegiate Baseball League's Top Prospect, headlined two NECBL alumni who were selected on the Major League Baseball draft's first day.
Appel was selected with the first overall pick by the Houston Astros. The selection came as no surprise. The 6'5" senior had been at the top of Major League Draft boards all season long. He went 10-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 106.1 innings.
"He has a plus fastball that sits comfortably in the mid-90s with good movement," wrote MLB.com draft guru Jonathan Mayo. "His hard slider and circle change are both outstanding offerings, at least above-average at times. He can throw all three pitches for strikes and has very good mound presence."
The NECBL had the first pick of the Draft in 2009 as well, when the Washington Nationals chose ex-Torrington Twister closer Stephen Strasburg number one overall.
As a Newport Gull in 2010, Appel went 6-1 with a 1.87 ERA, the sixth best in the League. He returned to Cardines Field in the summer of 2011 and pitched against Newport as a member of Team USA.
Appel is the NECBL's 18th first round draft pick and the 16th since the 2003 Draft. His selection marks the sixth consecutive draft where an NECBL product was taken in the first round.
The New York Yankees selected Notre Dame 3B Eric Jagielo in the first round with the 26th overall pick. It made Jagielo the NECBL's 19th first rounder.
Jagielo won the 2013 Big East Player of the Year, after ranking first or second in the conference in batting (.388), on base percentage (.500) and slugging percentage (.633). As a third baseman for the North Shore Navigators in 2011, freshman Jagielo earned second team All-NECBL honors. He hit .313 with 11 extra base hits and 28 RBI. He ranked fourth in the NECBL in hits.
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