Another Phillies No. 1 Pick Promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Mickey Moniak will have a fellow first-round pick to hang out with in Triple-A, as the Phillies have promoted Mark Appel from Double-A Reading.

Appel, a 29-year-old righty, was selected first overall in the 2013 draft by the Houston Astros. He was originally drafted out of high school by the Detroit Tigers in 2009, but elected to go to college instead on a baseball scholarship to Stanford University.

Phillies prospect Mark Appel was part of the Vince Velasquez trade

In 2015, Appel was part of the trade package from Houston that brought current Phillies starter Vince Velasquez to Philadelphia. He began his first season in the Phillies system with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but injuries prevented him from fully developing.

In February 2018, after the Phillies designated him for assignment the previous November, Appel announced that he would be taking “an indefinite break from baseball” at the age of 26. He began mounting his comeback in March of this year.

Appel has a 5.84 ERA over 24 2/3 innings this season, but his promotion to Triple-A is likely a result of two factors: the Phillies’ injuries and pitching struggles at the big-league level, and his own recent success. His last start was a scoreless gem in which he only allowed one hit and struck out four over five innings. It was his first scoreless appearance since May 13, but his first appearance of more than four innings this season.

With the Phillies struggling at the Major League level, and many prospects already making their debuts this season, we might see Appel finally get the call sooner rather than later.

When he stepped away in 2018, Appel said he was okay with being labeled “the biggest draft bust” in MLB history.

Hopefully, this is his chance to rewrite his story.