Stanford's Appel Overlooked For Golden Spikes Award
DURHAM, N.C. (CBS/AP) — Stanford pitcher Mark Appel and Oklahoma pitcher Jonathan Gray, viewed as the top prospects in this week's MLB amateur draft, were overlooked as the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt pitcher Tyler Beede, San Diego infielder Kris Bryant and North Carolina infielder Colin Moran were the three finalists announced by the U.S. Baseball Federation. Beede, a sophomore, is not eligible for the draft, which starts Thursday afternoon. Bryant and Moran are juniors and can be selected by big league teams.
Appel and Gray were among the 30 semifinalists for the award, which will be announced July 19 in Los Angeles. Appel was drafted by Pittsburgh and didn't sign last year, when he was a Golden Spikes finalist and lost out to Florida catcher Mike Zunino, who signed with Seattle.
Breede is 14-0 with a 2.20 ERA 101 strikeouts in 98 1-3 innings for Vanderbilt, which plays Louisville in the NCAA Super Regionals starting Saturday. Moran is batting .351 with 13 homers and an NCAA-high 85 RBIs for North Carolina, which plays South Carolina starting Friday.
Bryant hit .329 with 31 homers and 62 RBIs for San Diego, eliminated last weekend.
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