The Philadelphia Phillies traded closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros last week. When the deal was announced over the weekend, it was a surprise when the Astros included prospect pitcher Mark Appel in the package going back to Philadelphia.
The former 2013 No. 1 overall pick has not lived up to expectations in the minor leagues and rumors suggested at this point he may not have been worth that high of a draft selection especially since Kris Bryant was taken right after him.
Some might even say he could be considered a bust due to the success of recently drafted pitchers who have already made their MLB debuts: Carlos Rodon (2014), Aaron Nola (2014) and Brandon Finnegan (2014).
ESPN's Buster Olney said the Astros were smart to move the right-hander before the scrutiny further mounted. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow defended trading Appel as well.
However, the Phillies believe he can make an impact in their organization.
"Expectations in this game are real and pressures in this game are real and sometimes there are good reasons for it and sometimes not. Sometimes, a change of scenery can really help players," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak told Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Now we have to do our part to help him change that scenery as well. It's not a matter of just changing uniforms. We are going to have to put him in a good environment and help him do things that will have him reach his ceiling."
The 24-year-old Appel is just 16-11 with a 5.12 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 221 strikeouts in 54 games (53 starts), totaling 253 innings, in his minor league career. His best campaign came in 2013 when he maintained a 3.79 ERA in 10 starts at Low Class A Tri-City and Class-A Quad Cities. However, after that he put up a 6.91 ERA during the 2014 season with High Class A Lancaster and Double-A Corpus Christi and then a 4.37 ERA in 25 starts with Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno in 2015.
Klentak told Breen that Appel "would likely be invited" to MLB spring training this year. However, it's probable he'll start the year off at Triple-A Lehigh Valley since he's made only 12 starts above Double-A and owns a 5.14 ERA in those outings.
Another thing to ponder is how different this change of scenery will actually be for Appel. The Astros were and still are an up-and-coming organization and the right-hander was there for two years of their rebuilding process. Now he'll join the Phillies, who are in the midst of their own rebuild.
Their cast of young starters at the MLB level includes Nola, Jared Eickoff, Vincent Velasquez and Adam Morgan as well as veterans Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton. They also have talented prospects Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin, Ben Lively and others in the minors.
The physical scenery will be different for Appel, but the actual atmosphere may not be. Appel will perhaps be immersed in more competition as the Phillies are amassing young talent to determine who will be a part of the organization's future.
