Mark Appel being promoted to Double-A

The Houston Astros are preparing to promote pitching prospect and 2013 first overall draft pick Mark Appel to Double-A Corpus Christi. Appel’s struggles this season have been well-documented, but an outstanding start last Thursday gives Astros fans reason to be excited.

Evan Drellich broke the news this morning. Although details are still not available, it sounds like we will see Appel in a Hooks uniform some time next week.

Appel has had a tumultuous season, to say the least. But the big right-hander out of Stanford is working hard to make the adjustments necessary to get things back on track.

Appel knows that his most recent outing doesn’t erase all of the poor performances from earlier in the season. In a recent interview with Eric Smith, Mark spoke candidly about how he is dealing with the new set of challenges.

"The focus and the desire and the motivation are all there. I know exactly where I stand as to how much I put into each game. No one can be in my body and feel what I feel.What other people say or think isn’t a huge issue to me. They can say I’m soft or whatever but I know exactly who I am."

Appel may be 100% healthy for the first time all year and it will be interesting to see how reacts to the move to Double-A. Getting out of the California League could prove to be a big plus.