The Phillies announced that right-handers Mark Appel and Alberto Tirado have been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after clearing waivers. The pair was designated for assignment last week as Philadelphia set its roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
Now 26 years of age, Appel was the top overall pick in the 2013 draft by Houston, who surprised some a year prior by passing over Appel and taking Carlos Correa with the first overall pick in 2012. (Appel did not sign in 2012 after being selected eighth overall and returned to the ’13 draft).
Appel went from Houston to Philadelphia in the Ken Giles trade and has struggled with the Phils as much or more than he did with the Astros. In 188 2/3 career innings of Triple-A work, Appel has pitched to a 4.82 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9, battling shoulder and elbow troubles along the way.
As for Tirado, the 22-year-old ranked as high as eighth in the Blue Jays’ system during his prospect tenure, per Baseball America. The Phillies picked him up in the 2015 trade that sent Ben Revere to Toronto, but he’s largely stalled out at the Class-A Advanced level. Tirado was showing promise at that level, albeit with extreme control issues, in 2015 when the Jays traded him. He’s repeated the level twice now without significantly better results, however. While he did make his Double-A debut this past season, the bulk of Tirado’s year was spent at Class-A Advanced, where he logged a 3.69 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings of relief.
