2013 MLB Draft: 1st-Round Picks With Fastest Tracks to Major Leagues

Making it to the major leagues is every prospect's dream, but it's a difficult and arduous road that awaits the young men who were selected in the first round of the 2013 MLB draft.

Some of the players selected have a better shot than others, however, and it won't be a big surprise to see them make an appearance with their new ball clubs sometime in the 2014 MLB season—if not sooner.

Here's a look at the entire first round, courtesy of MLB.com:

Pick	Team	Player	School	Position
1	Houston Astros	Mark Appel	Stanford	RHP
2	Chicago Cubs	Kris Bryant	University of San Diego	3B
3	Colorado Rockies	Jonathan Gray	Oklahoma	RHP
4	Minnesota Twins	Kohl Stewart	Pius X HS (TX)	RHP
5	Cleveland Indians	Clint Frazier	Logansville HS (GA)	3B
6	Miami Marlins	Colin Moran	North Carolina	3B
7	Boston Red Sox	Trey Ball	New Castle HS (IN)	LHP/OF
8	Kansas City Royals	Hunter Dozier	Stephen F. Austin	SS
9	Pittsburgh Pirates	Austin Meadows	Grayson HS (GA)	CF
10	Toronto Blue Jays	Phillip Bickford	Oaks Christian HS (CA)	RHP
11	New York Mets	Dominic Smith	Sierra HS (CA)	1B
12	Seattle Mariners	DJ Peterson	New Mexico	3B
13	San Diego Padres	Hunter Renfroe	Mississippi State	OF
14	Pittsburgh Pirates	Reese McGuire	Kentwood HS (WA)	C
15	Arizona Diamondbacks	Braden Shipley	Nevada	RHP
16	Philadelphia Phillies	JP Crawford	Lakewood HS (CA)	SS
17	Chicago White Sox	Tim Anderson	East Central CC (MS)	SS
18	Los Angeles Dodgers	Chris Anderson	Jacksonville	RHP
19	St. Louis Cardinals	Marco Gonzalez	Gonzaga	LHP
20	Detroit Tigers	Jonathon Crawford	Florida	RHP
21	Tampa Bay Rays	Nick Ciuffo	Lexington HS (SC)	C
22	Baltimore Orioles	Hunter Harvey	Bandys HS (NC)	RHP
23	Texas Rangers	Alex Gonzalez	Oral Roberts	RHP
24	Oakland A's	Billy McKinney	Plano West HS (TX)	OF
25	San Francisco Giants	Christian Arroyo	Hernando HS (FL)	SS
26	New York Yankees	Eric Jagielo	Notre Dame	3B
27	Cincinnati Reds	Phillip Ervin	Samford	OF
2013 MLB Draft Supplemental First Round
28	St. Louis Cardinals	Rob Kaminsky	St. Joseph Regional HS (NJ)	LHP
29	Tampa Bay Rays	Ryne Stanek	Arkansas	RHP
30	Texas Rangers	Travis DeMeritte	Winder-Barrow HS (GA)	SS
31	Atlanta Braves	Jason Hursh	Oklahoma State	RHP
32	New York Yankees	Aaron Judge	Fresno State	OF
33	New York Yankees	Ian Clarkin	James Madison HS (CA)	LHP
2013 MLB Draft Competitive Balance Round A
34	Kansas City Royals	Sean Manaea	Indiana State	LHP
35	Miami Marlins	Matt Krook	St. Ignatius HS (CA)	LHP
36	Arizona Diamondbacks	Aaron Blair	Marshall	RHP
37	Baltimore Orioles	Josh Hart	Parkview HS (GA)	OF
38	Cincinnati Reds	Michael Lorenzen	Cal State Fullerton	RHP
39	Detroit Tigers	Corey Knebel	Texas	RHP

Now it's time to take a look at the players with the best chance to earn a spot on a big league roster in the next year. These prospects are already highly skilled, polished players who won't need a lot of refining in order to make a positive impact in the big leagues.

Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros

No surprise here. 

Appel was drafted in the first round the past two years before becoming the No. 1 overall pick of this year's draft. He's the most polished, pro-ready player in his draft class, and he won't need to spend much time in the minors before Houston calls him up.

That doesn't mean the Astros will rush him, however, according to Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart:

Still, it won't be earth-shattering news if Appel makes an appearance on Houston's big league roster before the 2013 season is finished. 

Appel features a fastball in the mid-90s with excellent movement, a hard slider and an effective changeup. He throws all three pitches with acumen and control, and he'll be an outstanding member of Houston's starting rotation sooner rather than later. 

Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs

Baseball analysts were expecting Chicago to pick either Appel or Jonathan Gray here with the No. 2 overall pick, but the Cubs decided to pick the biggest bat in the draft instead.

WGN's David Kaplan was hearing some buzz before the draft that Chicago was leaning toward Bryant. After the pick he spoke with Bryant's coach at San Diego, who told him Bryant is a once-in-a-career star:

While it isn't hard to argue that the Cubs need pitching, it's not hard to understand why the team fell for Bryant, either. 

A Golden Spikes finalist this past year, Bryant batted .329 with 31 home runs, 13 doubles, 80 runs and 62 RBI, with an .820 slugging percentage for the University of San Diego.

He's also a fantastic athlete who could end up playing in the outfield at some point for the Cubs. It's this versatility, along with Bryant's big bat, that could propel him onto the team's big league roster as soon as the beginning of the 2014 season. 

Colin Moran, 3B, Miami Marlins

Miami's roster is among the least-talented in the league on offense. As a team, the Marlins are batting just .227 (worst in MLB) with 29 home runs (worst in MLB) and 165 RBI (worst in MLB). 

Moran is a talented hitter who has plenty of experience against top-level pitching, playing in the ACC. He's also a big guy, at 6'4" and 215 pounds, and he can play either corner—third base or first base. 

Last year at North Carolina, Moran batted .351 with 13 home runs and 85 RBI in just 248 at bats. Marlins Director of Scouting, Stan Meeks, compared him to Wade Boggs, according to Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:

Considering the fact that Placido Polanco is currently starting at third base for Miami (.234 average with zero home runs and just seven RBI), it's not hard to envision Moran making an appearance in Miami by the time the 2014 season arrives. 

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