Lance was far younger and his command improved greatly, coupled with the development of a third pitch.
I really don't know what the overall problem with his work is, but Appel's FB/SL and change/curve/slurve are already MLB pitches. Brad Lidge became Brad Lidge simply because he couldn't handle consistently pitching a starter's load of innings. Same with Wagner. There's been nothing that suggests Appel is like that, yet.
Garrett Stubbs, who was drafted in the 8th round this year, has struck out 5 times in his first 145 plate appearances as a pro. He's also thrown out 56% of would-be stealers.
Mark Appel. Mark still has high upside and I wouldn't be shocked if at 29-30 he becomes an ace (for another team); but right now he just isn't that good. He has two fastballs that everyone praises but he lacks the consistent command needed to pitch successfully at the big leagues right now and he also is very easy to pick up, lacks deception. At this point the Astros hold on to him. This season hasn't been an overwhelming success but it also hasn't been terrible. He has the pieces to be a #1 for a long time and even if it looks like that won't happen, you don't move that kind of talent for a rental outfielder or soon to be free agent pitcher. I could see him part of a larger deal for something that nets them an elite bat under control for years though.
I still have very high hopes for Appel, I think he will the best of McCuller, VV and Feliz as he has 3 plus plus pitches. Maybe in the minors he is learning to pitch, and use all pitches in all situations and that why his whip is so high. But, the same thing happened with McCullers before this year. Like you say, i would not trade him as his ceiling is really high.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A.J. Reed finishes the year with a minor-league leading 34 home runs and 127 RBIs</p>— Michael Coffin (@CoffinMJC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoffinMJC/status/641025393705664512">September 7, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
No way. He should win POTY, but I think they are allowing an online vote give at least some weight to who wins. The last I saw, Reed wasn't leading the vote.
Reed had the highest OPS in the minors, 4th highest BA. Reed was also the leader in HR, RBI, and Runs. He has 22 more RBI than the next closest guy. He should be the minor league POY, but they tend to give that award to highly regarded prospects, not the best performer.
