MLB Draft

Mark Appel, the Stanford right-handed pitcher who passed up a $3.8 million bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates as the No. 8 pick in last year's draft, appears to have made a smart business decision to return to school for his senior season in 2013. 

The Major League Baseball draft is littered with uncertainty, which puts the onus on teams to find sturdier talents who won't live to become cautionary tales.

The MLB draft is a whole different monster when compared to other major sporting events.

Expecting the unexpected is the best approach to Major League Baseball’s yearly 40-round selection process. Not only will teams throw curveballs, they will do some pretty questionable things when picking from the top available talent in the world.

The Minnesota Twins' process of rebuilding their farm system will take another giant step next week when Major League Baseball conducts it's annual June amateur entry draft.

A year ago, the Twins hit on many of their picks as Byron Buxton, Adam Brett Walker and D.J. Baxendale have had tremendous seasons in the lower levels of the Twins' system.

In order for the team to turn around its fortunes at the major league level, it will need to have a similar draft to provide hope and depth at several positions of need.

The next crop of potential MLB talent is about to emerge. The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft is scheduled to begin on June 6.

Scouts are reporting to their MLB clubs with information on who they feel the team should target on draft day. Likewise, MLB experts and analysts are weighing in on who they feel will be drafted by which teams. 

Whether you're Asher Roth or Sam Adams, college isn't for everyone. It certainly isn't in the cards for some high school pitchers who dominate their age group start after start.

The complexity of the MLB draft can muddle the future of high school pitchers—whether to commit to a career straight out of high school or to test their draft stock and see how they perform at the collegiate level.

When is the 2013 MLB draft? 

I'll give you the amount of time it takes for your eyes to cross the following ellipses to figure it out...June 6-8. In those three days, the top amateur baseball players from high schools and colleges around the country will be selected somewhere within the draft's 50 rounds.

You read that right, 50 rounds—and therein lies one of the draft's clearest flaws.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2011 and logging only 28.1 innings last season in the minor leagues last year, Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson is on pace to make his major league debut before the All-Star break.

The 22nd overall draft pick in 2009, Gibson has pitched extremely well recently for Triple-A Rochester in the International League and has now thrown a complete game shutout in two of his last three starts.

When it comes to position players in the Major League Baseball draft, the two areas you will see teams reach on a pick are catcher and shortstop. It is so hard to find players who project to be even average at those spots that when a team believes it has found one, it needs to pounce. 

The 2013 MLB Draft is rapidly approaching as only 16 days remain until the draft kicks off on June 6 in MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The Chicago Cubs hold the second pick in the 2013 draft, following the Houston Astros. Pitching is always a concern, and the Cubs will have no shortage of pitching choices in 2013.

Here is a look at three pitchers the Cubs should target in the 2013 draft.