Skip to main content

Mark Appel exhibition notes and footage

It has been a few days since the IronPigs hosted the Fightins for the final pre-season exhibition on Tuesday.  The contest saw the Triple-A Lehigh Valley team notch a comeback victory over the Double-A Reading squad by a score of 5-3.

Lehigh Valley righty pitcher Mark Appel, who missed more than half of last season after requiring surgery on his pitching arm, had a tough outing, letting up three earned runs in two innings of work.

I received a few questions online about his efforts (he threw 40 pitches, 25 of those were strikes, he struck out two, walked one and hit a batter while allowing four hits against his organization mates), his health (he is said to be 100-percent) and his velocity (mostly 91-93 with the fastball).  With footage of all four batters he faced in the opening frame, I figured I would publish them, for anyone interested in taking a look.

The 25-year-old Appel, who was the first overall draft pick by Houston in 2013, is slated to be the IronPigs' fifth starter.

In his first season in the Phils organization after being acquired from the Astros in the Ken Giles trade, the Stanford product posted a 3-3 record with a 4.46 ERA and a .267 batting average against in eight starts for the IronPigs last year.

Appel was ranked on this site as the Phillies' number 21 prospect entering the 2017 season.







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

Mathieson Still Focused Despite Being Sent Down

CLEARWATER, FL- Somehow, despite the recent news that Brad Lidge is set to begin the season on the disabled list with a right shoulder injury, the Phillies didn't see fit to keep fire-balling righty hurler Scott Mathieson around. Mathieson, who has had a long road back to the big leagues following three elbow procedures (two of which were Tommy John surgeries), appeared in 7 games with the Phillies in spring training this year, posting a 2.00 ERA with 9 strike outs and 6 walks over 9 innings. The Vancouver, British Columbia native made his Major League debut with the Phils in 2006 as a starter, going 1-4 with a 7.47 ERA, but had his career sidetracked due to arm trouble. This spring, Mathieson was back where he wanted to be and felt that he was primed to return to a regular gig in the big leagues. However, on Saturday, the Phillies sent Mathieson back down to minor league camp. Mathieson's goal throughout his recovery has been to get back into the Phillies' red pinstripes...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...