MLB Draft 2012: When Drafting Best Player Available Goes Wrong

Carlos Correa could very well become a tremendous baseball player, but it was still a shocker on Monday night when the Houston Astros selected him at No. 1 overall in the 2012 MLB draft.

Correa, with his combination of athleticism, hitting, power and defense, has been compared to Troy Tulowitzki and Alex Rodriguez. There are few experts in the country that don't rate him highly. On top of that, he's only 17 years old, meaning he still has plenty of room to grow.

But that's not the point. The Astros needed pitching in this draft, and they needed it badly. Wandy Rodriguez has been their only dependable starter all season long. Bud Norris, J.A. Happ and Lucas Harrell have all disappointed (Happ leads the group with a 4.31 ERA thus far).

Someone like Stanford right-hander Mark Appel would have been a great choice for the Astros. Many draft experts had the Astros nabbing him, which makes sense because it was the logical selection for them.

To refresh your memory, Appel has gone 10-1 with a  2.27 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 119 innings this season for the Cardinal. He's coming off a four-hit, 11-strikeout, complete-game shutout against Fresno State in the Stanford Regional.

There's also the fact that this selection comes at a particularly odd time for Houston. Shortstop Jed Lowrie is enjoying a career year, and third baseman Chris Johnson is finally beginning to realize his potential.

This does allow the Astros to ease Correa into the majors, but a starting pitcher like Appel would have likely made it to the big leagues earlier and has the ability to develop into an All-Star himself (given, you know, he regularly throws in the mid-90s and has an impressive changeup and breaking ball).

Correa wasn't a bad value pick. It's just that the Astros needed pitching, and Appel, or even LSU's Kevin Gausman, would have been better fits.

Sometimes it's not about taking your favorite prospect. Sometimes you have to ask yourself if drafting him makes sense.

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