No. 1 pick Appel, the `can't-miss' pitcher, finally makes it to the show 9 years later
It had been more than nine years since Mark Appel was baseball's No. 1 pick. He struggled in the minors, quit in 2018, spent two years away from baseball, and came back as a long-shot minor leaguer with the Philadelphia Phillies looking for a chance. And Wednesday night, he was finally on a bigleague mound.
But first he had to figure out how to fit that pesky Pitchcom device — which sends signals from catcher to pitcher — into his cap.
Appel was once a can'tmiss prospect, an East Bay high school phenom at Monte Vista who went to Stanford and became the best pitcher in college baseball. Nine years later, the can't-miss finally made it.
“It took a little bit of time,” said Appel, who will be 31 on July 15. “Then I just tried to look around and soak it all in. Even coming out, the music is louder, the lights are brighter. The fans in Philadelphia are incredible. I heard people cheering for me and supporting me. It was a really special moment to have my big league debut at home in Philadelphia.”
He retired three of the four batters he faced in the ninth inning of a 4-1 loss to Atlanta, earned his first career strikeout against Adam Duvall, and topped his fastball at 97.5 mph.
“It's pretty surreal. I'm overwhelmed,” Appel said. “I felt like I almost cried. I was trying to hold back the tears. I think just having perspective and remembering two or three years ago, even if I was just trying to come back, it's never been a straight line. I was lost. I felt like there were times when I was hopeless and that this dream would never happen. I was choking back tears.”
Houston picked Appel first overall in 2013, a draft that produced Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Kris Bryant. Two years later, the Astros traded Appel to the Phillies. He struggled in the minors, battled shoulder injuries and left the game before spring training in 2018. Appel traveled, watched his friends reach the majors, and tried to find a career that fit before he came back to baseball.
“That was a great moment. It really was,” said Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson. “He was pretty emotional coming off the mound. Well deserved. The guy has been through a lot. It's a great story.”
The Phillies used Appel last year as a starter in Triple A. Pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Allentown, Pa.,he posted a 6.17 ERA. His standing in the organization felt thin — the general manager who acquired him was no longer with the Phillies and his own performance didn't make him a prospect — but Appel was granted a chance this year as a triple-A reliever.
Perhaps it was the right role as his velocity jumped and his performance — Appel had a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings — improved.
“This whole year has been so special for me,” Appel said. “Coming in, I was trying to figure out `Where do I fit in? What's my role going to be?' The fact that I have to go to Lehigh and learn how to be a reliever and have some success, that was fuel to my fire. I didn't need a call-up for it to be a successful year for me to feel like I was where I needed to be. In that sense, this is all just extra. I'm just really thankful for it.”,
“Pretty cool moment,” Phillies teammate Rhys Hoskins said. “I told him on the bench that I'm sure the journey makes all of this sweeter. As many ups and downs you can have in nine years, it's just really cool to see it all culminate. Him running in from the bullpen, I kind of snuck a peek at him before he reached second base and just a grin. You can't keep it in.”