Ace righthander Mark Appel was the only member of Stanford baseball’s 2012 draft class to return to school, as six former Cardinal players inked deals and began minor-league play in recent weeks.

Supplementary first-round pick Stephen Piscotty, who signed with the St. Louis Cardinals for $1.4 million, has played in 19 games with their Class-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Piscotty has hit .292 as the River Bandits’ starting third baseman and has played alongside former Stanford teammate Colin Walsh, who has missed time recently with an injury.

After being chosen in the third round, southpaw Brett Mooneyham signed with the Washington Nationals for $428,500. The lefty, who passed up a seven-figure offer from the Padres before deciding to come to Stanford, has done well in his first two pro outings, going 4.2 shutout innings and making his first professional start.

Fourth-round selection Kenny Diekroeger signed with Kansas City for $500,000, also a bit of a step down for the former second-round choice out of high school. He has jumped out to five home runs in just 15 games with the Royals’ rookie affiliate in Burlington, N.C.

Jake Stewart has done just as well with the Connecticut Tigers, as the ninth-round pick has three homers and six doubles in his 18 appearances.

Eighteenth-round pick Eric Smith and 24th-round pick Tyler Gaffney have also signed with the Dodgers and Pirates, respectively.

–Joseph Beyda