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Phillies prospect Mark Appel heading to disabled list with shoulder injury

By John Town |
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 12: Mark Appel #26 of the U.S. Team throws a pitch against the World Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at the Great American Ball Park on July 12, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JULY 12: Mark Appel #26 of the U.S. Team throws a pitch against the World Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at the Great American Ball Park on July 12, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Phillies pitching prospect Mark Appel is hitting the disabled list with a shoulder injury for the second straight season.

Little has gone well for Mark Appel since being traded to the Phillies, and his downward spiral is only continuing. Matt Provence of Lehigh Valley IronPigs Radio reports that Appel is headed to the disabled list with a right shoulder strain.

This is the second season in a row that Appel has suffered a shoulder strain. He went on the disabled list in late May last year, then suffered an elbow injury while rehabbing that kept him off the mound for the rest of the season.

This year was Appel’s third time trying to face Triple-A and it was his worst one yet. He had a 5.27 ERA, 13.9 percent walk rate, and 1.76 WHIP. Opposing hitters have had a .281 batting average against Appel in 17 starts this season.

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In his last start, Appel gave up four runs and walked five batters in just 0.2 innings. It was his shortest outing of the season and clearly something was wrong during it.

Appel has been so maddening because he had such potential but just could never live up to the hype of a No. 1 overall pick. This year, he’s had several starts where he didn’t allow any runs, including an 8.1-inning, eight-strikeout gem June 15.

However, there have been several more starts where he was just terrible. Even at his best, he struggles with command and just can’t put it all together.

After two years of struggles and injury, Appel’s place on the 40-man roster may be in jeopardy. The team has even more prospects to protect this season, and exposing one of them just to keep Appel on the roster seems like a waste at this point. This injury may be the nail in Appel’s coffin.

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To replace Appel on the roster, the team promoted Yacksel Rios to Triple-A. After struggling in 2016, Rios is back on track this year as an effective reliever. In 24 games in Double-A Reading, Rios had a 1.89 ERA, 32.2 percent strikeout rate, and 0.84 WHIP. With the way the major-league club has been going through relievers, Rios could make his way to the majors soon.

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