Mark Appel

Mark Stewart Appel (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Appel plays in minor league baseball for the Houston Astros organization.

Appel attended Stanford University and played for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team. Named the NCBWA's Pitcher of the Year in 2012, he was projected as the first overall draft choice in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft, but fell in the draft due to signability concerns. Appel did not sign after being selected, returning to Stanford for his senior season. The Astros selected him with the first overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, and he signed with the Astros.

Career

Amateur career

Appel attended Monte Vista High School in Danville, California.^[1] As a senior in high school, Appel was a relief pitcher, because other pitchers were perceived as more talented.^[2] In addition to baseball, Appel also played basketball at Monte Vista.^[3]

Appel was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 15th round, with the 450th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign, as he was committed to attend Stanford University.^[4] At Stanford, Appel received a scholarship to play college baseball for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team, competing in the Pac-10 Conference. Appel began his collegiate career as a reliever, and had several spot starts as a freshman, but became a starting pitcher during his sophomore season.^[5] In the summer of 2010, he played for the Newport Gulls of the NECBL, posting a 6-1 record and 1.87 ERA and earning First Team All-NECBL and Top Pro Prospect honors. As a sophomore in 2011, Appel had a 6-7 win-loss record with a 3.02 earned run average (ERA) in 110 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.^[1]

Appel was named a First Team All-American before the 2012 season.^[1] As a junior, he pitched to a 10-2 record and 2.56 ERA.^[6] Appel was projected as a potential first overall pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft,^[1][7] but reportedly rejected an offer from the Astros for a $6 million signing bonus. Due to the high perceived bonus demands, Appel fell in the draft to the 8th overall selection, where he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, Appel did not sign with the Pirates before the July 13, 2012, deadline and instead played his senior year at Stanford.^[6][8] He turned down an offer of a $3.8 million signing bonus.^[9]

Appel graduated from Stanford after the fall semester, receiving a degree in Management Science and Engineering. For the Cardinal baseball team, Appel pitched to a 10-4 record with a 2.12 ERA and struck out 130 batters in 106 ¹⁄₃ innings. The Pac-12 Conference honored him as their Scholar-Athlete of the Year.^[9]

Professional career

Appel was selected by the Houston Astros with the first pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.^[10] On June 19 he signed with the Astros for a signing bonus bonus worth $6.35 million.^[11]

Appel made his professional debut in July with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League.^[12] After making two starts for Tri-City, the Astros promoted Appel to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League.^[13] When Appel joined Quad Cities, teaming with Carlos Correa, this marked the first time that two consecutive first overall draft picks played for the same minor league team.^[14][15] The Astros ended Appel's season in August, with approximately 140 innings pitched on the season, between college and minor league baseball.^[16]

Personal

Appel was born in Houston, Texas. His family moved to San Ramon, California when he was 12 years old.^[17]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• "Mark Appel Profile - Stanford University's Official Athletic Site". Gostanford.com.