Former Pirates 1st-round pick Mark Appel finally reaches majors with Phillies
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SAN DIEGO — Mark Appel is a big league ballplayer nine years after he was selected No. 1 overall in the amateur draft and 10 years after the Pittsburgh Pirates picked him in the first round.
Appel was promoted by the Philadelphia Phillies. The right-hander, who turns 31 on July 15, went 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 19 appearances for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
“Completely overwhelmed. I have so many thoughts I want to share but can’t find the words, so I’ll just say this: I’m thankful,” Appel posted on Twitter on Saturday.
“Today, I get to play a game I love as a Major League Baseball player.”
Appel is stepping in for right-hander Connor Brogdon, who has been placed on the covid-19-related injury list.
Appel was drafted by the Pirates eighth overall in 2012 but decided to return to Stanford. A year later, Houston chose Appel with the No. 1 pick. He was an Astros fan growing up in West Houston and received a $6.35 million signing bonus from the team.
He went 10-3 with a 4.37 ERA while making a total of 25 starts at Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, and then was traded to Philadelphia in a multiplayer deal. But he announced in early 2018 that he was quitting the game, saying he was at peace with the decision.
Appel rejoined the Phillies organization before last season, and he went 3-6 with a 6.06 ERA in 23 appearances with Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley.