Wednesday nightwas MarkAppel's firstin a long time.
Appel — First overall pick by Astros in the 2013 MLB Draft — finally made his MLB debut, throwing a scoreless inning to rescue Phillies vs. Braves. The 30-year-old Appel is the oldest former No. 1 pick at the time of MLB debut since 1965, when the draft first moved in June.
"It's pretty surreal," Appeltold reporterafter Phillies lost 4-1.
Stanford's decorated college pitcher, Appel, gave Astros a $ 6.35 million signing bonus when drafted. But it marked the end of his baseball-related luck.
Over the seven minor league seasons with Astros and Phillies affiliates, Appel is 32-24 at 5.01 ERA. Suffering from countless injuries and disappointed by his poor performance on the field, Appel left the sport altogether in 2018, leaving his once-dominated game.
"I am pursuing other things But to be a healthy person, "Apeltold theBreacher Report. "I'm 26 years old and have a Stanford degree. I have a lot of interests besides baseball and I still love it, but I have a lot of things to worry about. I enjoy challenging my heart. The last four years of baseball challenged my heart. "
At that time, Appel was the last season before resigning, ERA 5.14 in 2017. He seemed relieved of his failure, including pitching to.
"If you want to call me the biggest draft bust, you can call it," Appel said.
But three years later, Appel embarked on a comeback in the spring of 2021 and reported to Phillies' minor league spring training. He posted 6.06 ERA in 2021, but in 2022 he told another story. With 19 appearances of the Philadelphia Triple-A Affiliate this season, Appel was 5-0 at 1.61 ERA, and the flashy numbers brought him a long-awaited call. Saturday's big league.
"Even if I just came back , It said after Appel allowed one hit and defeated the hitter on Wednesday. "Even throughout the process, I got lost. This dream never happens, despair. I felt like there was a certain time. Oh yeah, I was holding back my tears. "
