Categories: News

Phillies to select former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel

Mark Appel is heading to the Show. (Cheryl Pursell)

The Phillies are selecting the contract of right-handed pitcher Mark Appel, interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters in San Diego on Friday. In a corresponding move, Connor Brogdon is going on the COVID-19 injured list.

Appel, 30, has a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2022. He returned to the Phillies organization prior to the 2021 season. Injuries and personal struggles took its toll and Appel stepped away from professional baseball for three full seasons in 2017.

“…Probably by the end of the 2018 season – it’s weird because I wasn’t playing so it didn’t feel like a season – I was starting to kind of question what would it take for me to play again,” Appel said in March 2021. “It seemed clear that I still had a desire and I wanted to figure out how to get healthy.”

He informed Phillies assistant general manager Ned Rice that he’s interested in returning to the game in November 2020. A few months later, Appel, who was originally acquired by the Phillies in the Ken Giles trade in 2015, reported to Clearwater and spent the season splitting time between Double A and Triple A. He came back to the game with the desire to have fun, something he admitted to struggling with in his first stint in professional baseball.

Nearly nine years after being selected by his hometown Houston Astros with the No. 1 overall pick, he’s finally heading to the Show.

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION

  1. Phillies 2022 Walk-Up Songs
  2. Before His Walk-Off, Rhys Hoskins And His Wife Jayme ‘Went Yard’ For MDA
  3. 4 Lefty Relievers The Phillies Could Target At The Trade Deadline
  4. IronPigs Could Leave Lehigh Valley Without Stadium Upgrade, Per GM
  5. Jean Segura: ‘I Would Love To Finish My Career In Philadelphia’
  6. MLB Draft Analyst Keith Law Mocks Kumar Rocker To The Phillies
  7. Bryce Harper On Trea Turner: ‘I’m Excited To See Where He Goes Next Year’
  8. Bake McBride, Ron Reed To Be Inducted Onto Phillies Wall Of Fame
  9. 33 Numbers To Remember: The Defining Stats Of Cliff Lee’s Career
  10. How Has Bryce Harper Fared In All-Star Game Voting?
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1286819284
Share
Destiny Lugardo

A lifelong native of Philadelphia, Destiny has been a contributor for Phillies Nation since January 2019 and was named Deputy Editorial Director in May 2020.

Get throwback Phillies styles from Shibe Vintage Sports in Center City Philly