Pirates take pitcher Mark Appel with first pick

Another big-time arm could be headed to McKechnie Field next year.
The Pirates took Mark Appel, a junior out of Stanford, with the eighth overall pick tonight during the first day of the amateur player draft.
Appel went 10-1 with a 2.27 ERA for Stanford, striking out 127 in 119 innings. He threw five complete games and a shutout, and was named the most outstanding player of the Stanford Regional during the NCAA Division I tournament.
Appel allowed 92 hits, but only 23 went for extra bases.
The Pirates' first-round pick last year, pitcher Gerrit Cole, made his professional debut in April with the Marauders after a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League. Cole had finished his junior year at UCLA before the Pirates picked him.
Will Appel follow in Cole's footsteps?
We'll know for sure this time year.