MLB Draft Picks 2013: Twitter Reacts to Best Selections, Fails and Surprises

The MLB draft might not have the fanfare of some other sports selections, but the 2013 event was certainly a memorable one.

While fans will not see most of these faces in the major leagues for quite a few years, there is a lot of talent in this class. Unsurprisingly, this led to plenty of opinions from experts and fans about who each team should select.

Things started off with the Houston Astros for the second year in a row. The organization drafted Mark Appel out of Stanford to add some pitching depth, and possibly make an impact early in his career.

The rest of the first round featured plenty of other surprising selections both good and bad. Here are the top reactions to some of the more intriguing picks of the first round.

No. 1 Mark Appel to the Houston Astros

Many believed Mark Appel was the best player in the draft, although this did not necessarily mean that the Astros were going to take him first overall due to signability concerns.

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him with the No. 8 pick and the Stanford right-hander decided to return to school for another year.

However, Houston still went with Appel to start off the draft, according to the MLB Twitter account:

ESPN's Robert Flores was a big fan of the selection:

Things also worked out for the young player himself, as noted by Bryan Fischer of the Pac-12 Network:

Later in the night, Appel showed that he was quite happy when he sent out this tweet:

Still, the biggest fan of the pick was MLB Network's Harold Reynolds. The analyst said on the air that he believes Appel will be in the majors by July (via Trent Shadid):

Although this seems far-fetched, it is clear that the Astros made a smart move with this selection.

No. 3 Jonathan Gray to the Colorado Rockies

After the Chicago Cubs selected the first position player in slugger Kris Bryant, the Colorado Rockies selected Oklahoma pitcher Jonathan Gray with the No. 3 pick.

This obviously made the local fans in Oklahoma quite happy (via SoonerSports.com):

Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago seemed upset that the Cubs passed on the talented pitcher:

MLB Network's Jonathan Mayo does believe Gray will be successful in Colorado, despite the high elevation:

While few pitchers look forward to playing in Denver, this seems to be a good match.

No. 5 Clint Frazier to the Cleveland Indians

The next two picks after Gray were all about potential. Kohl Stewart is the pitcher with a lot of upside, but Clint Frazier could end up being one of the top all-around players in the draft.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports was especially high on the outfielder:

He ended up going to the Cleveland Indians with the No. 5 pick, and was in the studio to enjoy the moment (via MLB Network):

Indians general manager Chris Antonetti explained to Jim Bowden of ESPN exactly why Frazier was drafted:

Then again, Frazier does have one other aspect that makes him an interesting player, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports:

Hair color aside, Frazier is certainly going to be a player to watch in the upcoming years.

No. 8 Hunter Dozier to the Kansas City Royals

As the draft progressed, few selections made people turn their heads more than Hunter Dozier at No. 8. The Kansas City Royals seemed to really like the shortstop, although this seemed a bit early for the youngster.

Keith Law of ESPN talks about how this was a big reach:

John Manuel of Baseball America also thought this was too early for the pick, although he had some nice things to say about the hitter:

Then again, Jim Bowden of ESPN was blunt in his assessment of the selection:

The Royals are obviously higher on Dozier than the analysts, so hopefully they made the right decision with the eighth pick.

No. 11 Dominic Smith to New York Mets

As previously mentioned, Jim Bowden is fond of Dominic Smith. He continued his analysis in more detail here:

MLB analyst Eric Davis also believes in the skill of the first baseman, according to Knobler:

However, it is not just the physical skill that has the Mets excited. Peter Gammons of MLB Network discussed the player's character:

Obviously, plenty of people were excited to get an interview with the newest member of the Mets organization (via MLB Public Relations):

Smith will probably need some seasoning in the minors before reaching the majors, but he certainly has a lot of potential.

Full Results (via MLB.com)

No.	Team	Player	Pos.
1	Houston Astros	Mark Appel	RHP
2	Chicago Cubs	Kris Bryant	3B
3	Colorado Rockies	Jonathan Gray	RHP
4	Minnesota Twins	Kohl Stewart	RHP
5	Cleveland Indians	Clint Frazier	OF
6	Miami Marlins	Colin Moran	3B
7	Boston Red Sox	Trey Ball	LHP
8	Kansas City Royals	Hunter Dozier	SS
9	Pittsburgh Pirates	Austin Meadows	OF
10	Toronto Blue Jays	Phillip Bickford	RHP
11	New York Mets	Dominic Smith	1B
12	Seattle Mariners	D.J. Peterson	3B
13	San Diego Padres	Hunter Renfroe	RF
14	Pittsburgh Pirates	Reese McGuire	C
15	Arizona Diamondbacks	Braden Shipley	RHP
16	Philadelphia Phillies	J.P. Crawford	SS
17	Chicago White Sox	Tim Anderson	SS
18	Los Angeles Dodgers	Chris Anderson	RHP
19	St. Louis Cardinals	Marco Gonzales	LHP
20	Detroit Tigers	Jonathan Crawford	RHP
21	Tampa Ray Rays	Nick Ciuffo	C
22	Baltimore Orioles	Hunter Harvey	RHP
23	Texas Rangers	Alex Gonzalez	RHP
24	Oakland Athletics	Billy McKinney	CF
25	San Francisco Giants	Christian Arroyo	SS
26	New York Yankees	Eric Jagielo	3B
27	Cincinnati Reds	Phillip Ervin	CF
28	St. Louis Cardinals	Rob Kaminsky	LHP
29	Tampa Bay Rays	Ryne Stanek	RHP
30	Texas Rangers	Travis Demeritte	SS
31	Atlanta Braves	Jason Hursh	RHP
32	New York Yankees	Aaron Judge	CF
33	New York Yankees	Ian Clarkin	LHP

Rob Goldberg is a member of Bleacher Report's Breaking News Team. Follow him on Twitter for the latest updates.