The experts all tried to convince us that the 2012 MLB Draft had no frontrunner, and after two days of draft results they appear to have been right: The Houston Astros, in their first draft under former St. Louis Cardinals farm czar Jeff Luhnow, took Carlos Correa with the No. 1 overall pick, eschewing both Byron Buxton, who went No. 2, and Mark Appel, who slipped all the way to No. 8 due to signability issues. Luhnow, widely regarded as the key figure in the Cardinals' transformation of their once-dormant farm system, surprised even those wary experts by selecting the the high-upside shortstop; the No. 1 pick was, by draft day widely assumed to come down to Buxton and Appel.

We scouted him at Viva El Birdos back in February; since then his draft stock had only gone up, but few expected him to be the Astros' new top prospect on this side of MLB Draft day. A huge power-threat who could stick at shortstop, Correa definitely has the potential to be this draft's best pick, but it'll take a while for him to realize it. Luhnow appears to be confident about his job prospects in the medium-term, if nothing else.

More MLB Draft 2012 coverage from SB Nation St. Louis:

• We talked to Jeff Luhnow about his draft strategy, which appears to apply, now, both to the Cardinals and the Astros.
• Day 2 of the Cardinals' MLB Draft results are very interesting, especially if you like risky picks.