Phillies Calling Up Former No. 1 Pick for MLB Debut

It took nearly a decade since he was drafted, but former No. 1 prospect Mark Appel will finally make his MLB debut. The Philadelphia Phillies promoted the 30-year-old pitcher from Triple-A on Thursday night after placing reliever Connor Brogdon on the COVID-19 injured list.

Phillies Roster News

Appel's Major-League journey sure was a lot longer than he had hoped. After an impressive collegiate career at Stanford, the Houston Astros selected the local product with the first overall pick at the 2013 MLB Draft. Despite his notable potential, he failed to meet expectations.

Appel struggled to find success at the minor-league level, leading to the Astros trading him to the Phillies ahead of the 2016 MLB season in a seven-player deal. The change in scenery didn't help as injuries piled up, resulting in the Houston native walking away from baseball in 2018.

His time away from America's pastime lasted three years before he made a return to the Phillies organization in 2021. Fast forward to the 2022 Triple-A campaign and Appel appears to have finally found his footing, going 5-0 in 19 relief appearances with Lehigh Valley, pitching to a 1.61 ERA and 0.929 WHIP.

The Phillies' bullpen has combined for a 4.23 ERA, ranking 11th-worst in the Majors. The hope is that Appel can bring what made him successful in the minors to the next level, giving Philadelphia another reliable reliever in the process.

If he succeeds, perhaps he can finally be an everyday big leaguer and prove that hard work does pay off, regardless of how long it takes.

Phillies vs Padres Odds (June 25)

Appel will get a chance to make his MLB debut when the Phillies visit the San Diego Padres on Saturday at 10:10 p.m. ET. FanDuel Sportsbook currently has Philadelphia as the +114 underdogs on the moneyline, while the Padres sit at -134.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.