Phillies’ Mark Appel finally arrives in the majors — and in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — When Mark Appel arrived in Troy, N.Y., in 2013 to play for the Houston Astros’ low-A affiliate, he didn’t think he’d be there for very long. He didn’t think he’d be in the minor leagues for very long, either.

At Stanford University, he had established himself as the best collegiate starter in the country. After graduating, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft. Those types of players, that type of talent, didn’t toil in the minor leagues.

» READ MORE: Mark Appel was once a can’t-miss prospect. Nine years later, the Phillies could finally make him a major leaguer.

In Appel’s 21-year-old mind, he would be in the Astros’ farm system for a couple of years. They would call him up to Houston, he’d earn a spot in their rotation, and serve as an integral piece of their championship run.

It did not pan out that way. Instead, Appel spent seven years waiting for his call. He struggled with elbow and shoulder injuries. He was traded to the Phillies in 2015, and in 2018, he realized that the sport that once gave him so much joy was not fun for him anymore, so he walked away from it.

When he returned in 2021, he had a completely different mindset. He realized that happiness doesn’t come from a big league call-up, and with that realization, he shed the expectations that had plagued him for so long. He was putting up a career year with triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, posting a 1.61 ERA through 19 relief appearances. And on Saturday, nine years after his journey began, he became Mark Appel, big leaguer.

When Appel arrived at the airport on Saturday morning, he was told his non-stop flight from Newark, N.J., had been canceled. He frantically called the Phillies’ traveling secretary, who booked him on a flight through San Francisco, and made it to Petco Park a few hours before game time.

He sat in the visitors’ dugout on Saturday afternoon, a 30-year-old rookie, wearing a Phillies cap instead of an Astros cap. He was there to pitch out of the bullpen, not out of the rotation. He had no multi-million dollar contracts, he had no championship rings. Nothing had gone according to plan — not even his flight. But he felt at peace.

“I’ve been at peace with my career for a long time now,” he said. “Probably since 2018 when I left. I made that decision, knowing I might never play again. Honestly. There’s no guarantee the Phillies would even want me back. Who knows if I’ll even get healthy. So, I’ve been at peace with who I am and my career and if I got to the big leagues today — that’s all gravy — but if I never did, I’d still be a pretty happy guy.”

He heard the news from his triple-A manager, Anthony Contreras, on Friday, after a 10-7 loss to the Norfolk Tides. Contreras walked into the IronPigs’ clubhouse and held a team meeting.

“If you want to win ball games, everyday, you’ve got to be prepared,” he told his team. “You’ve got to be ready to go in when your name is called. If you aren’t prepared, you’re not going to win a lot of games here. If you’re not prepared, you’re never going to get to go to the big leagues.”

Then, he turned to Appel.

“That’s exactly what this guy’s been doing,” Contreras said. “Mark, you’re going to the big leagues.”

The clubhouse went crazy. Appel started to choke up. He immediately texted his family — his brother, his sister-in-law, and his parents — and asked if they could hop on a group FaceTime. It was 11 p.m. in Houston, where they all live. His mother, Sondra, had an inkling that something was up.

“We were like, ‘He wants to talk? That late at night?’” she said. “But we were so excited. It was unbelievable.

“I think this year, he is pitching with joy. He’s back to some of the fun times he had at Stanford, and there’s a lot of freedom in that.”

Appel said he is still in shock. As he was stretching and throwing on the field on Saturday, he paused to look at the ballpark around him. They don’t have upper decks in the minor leagues. He doesn’t know when this will become real, or how long this stint will last, but for now, he’s trying to take in as much as he can.

“I look back and I’m like the plan was to get to the big leagues quick, but I think it happened exactly like it was supposed to,” he said.