MLB Draft 2013: Most Jaw-Dropping Selections from Round 1

As it happens every year, the 2013 MLB draft featured a few head-scratching selections nobody saw coming. 

To nobody's surprise, Mark Appel was picked No. 1 overall by the Houston Astros, as noted by MLB on Twitter:

He's the most pro-ready player in this year's draft class, and if anyone has the chops to make a surprise appearance with his new club this season, it's Appel. 

After Appel, however, the draft was far from predictable. 

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

Here's a look at the most jaw-dropping selections from Round 1.

Kansas City Royals Select Hunter Dozier (No. 8 Overall)

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports summed up the Royals' decision to pick Dozier with the No. 8 overall pick with one word that aptly described the overriding perception around the nation:

Most analysts didn't have Dozier going until late in the first round—at the earliest. ESPN's Keith Law was just as shocked as everyone else, as he had Dozier as his 38th-ranked player in the draft:

Yeah, this was a head-scratcher by any measure.

Dozier was a productive player at Stephen F. Austin this past year, hitting .396 with 17 home runs and 12 stolen bases, and nobody's saying he'll be a bust as an MLB prospect. That said, it's safe to say the perception around the league is that the Royals reached in a major way with this selection.

San Francisco Giants Select Christian Arroyo (No. 25 Overall)

If the Royals reached for Dozier, then we need to make up a new word for what the Giants did picking Arroyo in the first round.

Most experts didn't have Arroyo anywhere near the first round in pre-draft projections. ESPN's Law had him as his 99th-ranked player (Insider protected), and Bleacher Report didn't even include him in its top 100:

Needless to say, this was a shocker.

Given the fact that Arroyo has committed to Florida, it will be interesting to see if he even ends up with the Giants. 

Tampa Bay Rays Select Ryne Stanek (No. 29 Overall)

While the first two selections in this column focused on players who were drafted well ahead of their perceived values by most experts, there's a different story to be told here.

Stanek was a highly rated player who somehow nearly fell out of the first round. ESPN's Law had him as his 13th-ranked player (Insider protected) and had the Dodgers taking him with the No. 18 overall pick in his final mock draft.

A phenomenal pitcher with one of this year's top arms, Stanek regularly throws his fastball in the mid-90s and features excellent movement with that pitch. He also throws a solid curveball and a wicked slider, which will likely be his go-to pitch at the next level. 

The Rays landed one of the best players in the draft at a bargain rate, as noted by JJ Cooper of Baseball America:

Tampa Bay will certainly get the most out of this young man, who will be playing with a huge chip on his shoulder for years to come after getting snubbed by most of the teams in the league.

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