Kansas City Royals prospect Bubba Starling has been named to the Appalachian League All-Star team in his first professional season, says MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Starling, 20, was KC's first-round pick in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but his late signing meant that he didn't get on the field until this season. In 50 games at Rookie-level Burlington, Starling owns an .884 OPS with 10 homers and 10 stolen bases.
Those are pretty good numbers for a guy who was still unsure whether he wanted to play baseball, or head to the University of Nebraska to quarterback their football team, when it came time to sign. Ultimately, he took the $7.5 million that the Royals gave him and began his baseball career.
Baseball America had Starling as its No. 24 prospect in baseball prior to the start of the 2012 season. In addition to Starling, Burlington players Patrick Leonard and Mark Threlkeld were selected to the all-star team.
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