Mark Appel

Mark Stewart Appel (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

After being drafted out of high school by the Detroit Tigers in 2009, Appel elected to attend Stanford University and play for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team.

The Detroit Tigers selected Appel in the 15th round, with the 450th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.

Appel did not sign, as he was committed to attend Stanford University.

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, making 24 relief appearances, but also starting three games.

He had a 5.92 earned run average (ERA), as he allowed a .295 batting average against and only recorded 26 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched.

He became a starting pitcher during his sophomore season.

In the summer of 2010, he played for the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), posting a 6–1 win–loss record and 1.87 ERA in n 43 1⁄3 innings.

As a sophomore for Stanford in 2011, Appel had a 6–7 win-loss record with a 3.02 ERA in 110 1⁄3 innings pitched.

After the 2011 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Pitcher of the Year in 2012, he was projected as the first overall draft choice in the 2012 MLB draft, but fell in the draft due to signability concerns.

Appel did not sign after being selected eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, returning to Stanford for his senior season.

Going into his junior year in 2012, Collegiate Baseball named Appel a First Team All-American.

As a junior, he pitched to a 10–2 record and 2.56 ERA, and won the National Pitcher of the Year Award.

Appel was projected as a potential first overall pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, 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 eighth 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.

He turned down an offer of a $3.8 million signing bonus.

Appel graduated from Stanford after the fall semester, receiving a bachelor's 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.

He was drafted by the Houston Astros with the first overall pick of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Houston Astros selected him with the first overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft, and he signed with them.

The Houston Astros selected Appel with the first overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

On June 19, he signed with the Astros for a signing bonus worth $6.35 million.

Appel made his professional debut in July with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Low-A New York–Penn League.

After making two starts for Tri-City, the Astros promoted Appel to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Single-A Midwest League.

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.

The Astros ended Appel's season in August, with approximately 140 innings pitched on the season, between college and minor league baseball.

For Tri-City and Quad Cities, Appel pitched to a 3–1 record in 10 games started, with a 3.79 ERA and 33 strikeouts with nine walks in 38 innings.

The Astros invited Appel to spring training in 2014 as a non-roster player.

Appel underwent an appendectomy in January, which delayed his preparations for the 2014 season.

Appel was traded to the Phillies after the 2015 season.

After continued struggles, he was designated for assignment by the Phillies on November 20, 2017.

In February 2018, at the age of 26, Appel announced that he was stepping away from baseball.

He returned to the Phillies organization in March 2021 to attempt a comeback, and made his major league debut in June 2022.

Appel attended Monte Vista High School in Danville, California, where he played for the baseball and basketball teams.

Appel was a relief pitcher for Monte Vista's baseball team, making no appearances as a starting pitcher, because other pitchers on the team were thought to be more talented.