Phillies prospect Appel has season-ending elbow surgery

By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor

Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Mark Appel had season-ending surgery on his elbow Wednesday, according to Philly.com's Matt Gelb. 

Mark Appel had surgery today to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. His season is over. Expected to be ready for spring training.

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) June 29, 2016

Gelb went into further detail in in article, saying that Appel was injured while attempting to begin throwing again while working his way back from the disabled list. 

Appel, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, was acquired by the Phillies from the Houston Astros in the Ken Giles trade. Appel was viewed as the second-best player that the Phillies acquired in that trade, behind Vince Velasquez. 

In eight starts with the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs this season, Appel was 3-3 with a 4.46 ERA. It would be interesting to know exactly when Appel started to feel discomfort in his elbow in 2016, considering he had an ERA of 1.64 after his first four starts. In parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, Appel has an ERA of 5.04.

It also will be interesting to see if Appel, who is 24, is invited to Major League Spring Training next season like he was in 2016 and whether he's given a serious chance to be in the starting rotation at some point in 2017.