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HOUSTON -- Mark Appel received high praise from MLB commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday when the No. 1 overall pick signed with the Houston Astros. Speaking at a MLB diversity business summit at a convention near Minute Maid Park, Selig praised Houstons rebuilding efforts. He then likened Appel, a right-handed pitcher, and Houstons 2012 No. 1 pick, shortstop Carlos Correa, to two of the franchises greatest stars, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. "The Astros are on their way to building the foundation that every club needs for sustained success and I believe this club has the right people in place to execute their very sound plan that is going to bring winning baseball back to the fans of Houston," Selig said. "I look forward to the day when players like Carlos Correa and a hometown pitcher Mark Appel ... will be among those who form a new core as successful as Bagwell and Biggio were for so many years." Appel, a polished and well-spoken Stanford graduate, was left speechless when told of the commissioners remarks. "Thats, uh, its very nice words that he said," he said, shaking his head. "Just hearing that comparison is pretty special, especially being a hometown Houston guy. Bagwell and Biggio were two of my favourite players and knowing that Bud Selig sees me and Carlos Correa as potentially the next Bagwell and Biggio is exciting." Terms were not disclosed but Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said it was "the most significant investment" the Astros have ever made in an amateur player. The 21-year-old Appel was 10-4 with four complete games and a 2.12 ERA this season. He had 130 strikeouts in 106.1 innings pitched and allowed opponents a .203 batting average. Appel is an Astros fan who grew up in West Houston before moving to California at the age of 12. The Astros had a chance to draft him last year but instead went with the 17-year-old Correa from Puerto Rico. Appel slid to Pittsburgh at No. 8 last year but turned down a $3.8 million offer and returned to Stanford for his senior season. Appel said when he rejected the Pirates, he wasnt thinking about potentially being drafted by Houston this season. When it happened, he could barely believe how well everything worked out. "Growing up in Houston I came to games at the Astrodome and at Minute Maid," he said. "That was the dream. It was every kids dream to play for your home team and now its a reality. Its still surreal. I dont think its sunk in." The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Appel will be a welcome addition to the hard-luck Astros with his mid-90s (mph) fastball, nasty slider and improving changeup. "Drafting and signing Mark Appel was a top priority for our organization this year," Luhnow said. "We are an organization focused on winning championships in the future and we expect Mark to be a big part of that effort." Astros amateur scouting director Mike Elias raved about Appel and believes he will be a key piece in turning around this franchise which has lost 100 games in back-to-back seasons. "This is what we believe is going to be a high-impact addition to our organization," Elias said. "He is someone who has the potential to be a front-line starting pitcher for a very long time." Luhnow said that Appel will report to Houstons spring training facility in Florida next week and that hell likely begin his professional career at short A Tri-City. He expects him to then move to Single-A Quad Cities and possibly Double-A Corpus Christi by the end of the season. He said he will be at major league camp next season, but that he wasnt sure when he could be pitching in Houston. "Its too early to speculate on timelines," Luhnow said. "We need to get him out there and get him pitching." Bobby Okereke Youth Jersey . 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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Trevor Siemian, locked in a tight battle with Mark Sanchez for the Broncos starting quarterback job, will get his turn to start Saturday night during Denvers exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers.Sanchez, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia as a potential replacement for the retired Peyton Manning, started the Broncos exhibition opener last week in Chicago.Rookie first-round pick Paxton Lynch also is in the mix, though the bulk of his work has been with the third team.Siemian and Sanchez have split repetitions with the Broncos first-team offense throughout training camp and with the two waging a close competition for the job, coach Gary Kubiak decided Siemian should also get a crack at starting.Kubiak said he would like to make a decision on a starter next week but did not rule out taking more time to finalize his pick.Would I like to? Yes. Will I? Well see, Kubiak said.The Broncos, coming off their Super Bowl-winning season, will have a new face at starting quarterback no matter who gets the job. Brock Osweiler, who went 5-2 in place of the injured Manning last season, left for Houston in free agency.Siemian, who got in for one play (a game-ending kneel-down) as the third-team quarterback last season, is the lone quarterback on the Broncos roster with experience in Kubiaks offensive system.Sanchez, an eight-year veteran, by far has the edge in game experience with 72 career regular-season starts, including two last season when he was a backup with the Eagles.Both played well in the preseason opener as did Lynch, and Kubiak has said he expects to have to make a very tough decision since so little has separated Sanchez and Siemian during their competition in training camp.Kubiak said he has done what he can to make the competition fair, right down to the number of plays Siemian and Sanchez get with the first-team offense.dddddddddddd He said a variety of factors will come into play in ultimately making the call.Im looking at everything, leadership, how they handle the team, Kubiak said. Obviously, you want to make them each make the same amount of decisions. If I sent one out there and one throws it four times and the other throws it 15 ... Id like to see that pretty equal. I just watch their decision-making process and those types of things.Siemian and Sanchez will each play roughly a quarter and a half. Lynch will finish up, Kubiak said.Meanwhile, Kubiak said defensive end Derek Wolfes left ankle injury was not as serious as initially feared.Wolfe limped off the practice field with the assistance of a couple of trainers Wednesday after rolling the ankle during a pass rush. He was held out of practice Thursday.Derek is fine, Kubiak said. I expect Derek back for our light practice (Friday). I expect him to play. Derek is doing well.Game notes Linebacker Von Miller, who was held out of last weeks exhibition opener at Chicago, is expected to play Saturday night against the San Francisco 49ers in his first game action since being named Super Bowl MVP in the Broncos 24-10 victory over Carolina. ... Also expected to make his Broncos debut is left tackle Russell Okung, a key offseason free agent acquisition. ... The Broncos wrapped up the second and final day of joint practices with the 49ers at their Dove Valley training facility.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '