Two months remain in the 2012 MLB regular season, but it's pretty clear where the top two picks in the 2013 MLB Draft are going to land. The Houston Astros, who had the No. 1 pick in 2011, are currently occupying the first slot again and are followed by the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies have never held the first overall pick, but they have had the second overall pick once before.
In 2006, the Rockies drafted Greg Reynolds, a pitcher out of Stanford. There are plenty of reactions to be found when Reynolds is discussed. A serious arm injury did hurt his career chances, but he was mostly awful when he did pitch. You'll also hear the names of some other first-rounders the team passed on: Evan Longoria, Clayton Kershaw and Tim Lincecum to name just the most obvious.
So, with the 2012 signing deadline already several weeks old, there's not time like the present to look at who the Rockies might draft next June. Baseball America has released its Top 50 Draft Prospects list for August.
The No. 1 player on the list is Stanford Cardinal ace Mark Appel, who had been the No. 8 overall pick in 2012 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Appel had been in line for the No. 1 pick for most of the year before the Astros made a late decision for Carlos Correa. That then caused Appel to drop, as well as his reported demands of above-slot money. Though he'll be a senior, Appel will likely still command a significant amount of money, which the Rockies might not want to dole out.
There are a couple of other pitchers such as Arkansas' Ryne Stanek and Indiana State's Sean Manaea, but with 10 months to go so much can change, especially as the soon-to-be high school seniors continue to showcase in front of the scouts.
Just don't start complaining about how the Rockies are going to burn the pick. That might very well be true, but don't predict it so confidently at this point in time.