When the Phillies traded Ken Giles in December of 2015, they received five pitchers in return. Two garnered the most attention once the dust settled: Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel. Velasquez immediately became a staple in the rotation, but Appel has not seen that same success.
The former No. 1 overall pick made just eight starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2016. He had a 4.46 ERA and 11.6% walk rate before a shoulder injury put him on the disabled list. As Appel was rehabbing from that injury, he sustained a bone spur in his elbow and to get surgery to remove it, costing him the rest of the season.