I was furious when the Astros traded Appel. I thought he could turn it around. But even a change of scenery didn’t help. Astros managed to squeeze anybit of value he still had. A great move by Luhnow which show he’s a great GM. And Kudos to Appel for accepting his reality, that he isn’t cutting it in the majors. Maybe he comes back or maybe he comits to his life outside of baseball. The talent seemed to be there, but he just could not adjust to pro ball players catching up to his stuff; he lacked elusiveness to mix into his arsenal.
I always thought him being so disappointed in not being the #1 pick in 2011, and turning down the million+ signing bonus with the Pirates, then coming back and raising his stock even more the following year was going to be a plus in the "handle the pressure" department. But in the end, we have a guy who never really failed at any level prior to the draft... and when he finally did face adversity/failure, he crumpled like a cheap suit. Provided his arm is sound... whenever he gets his head right, I'm sure he'll give it another go (if he really wants it). Could top out as a relief pitcher.
Maybe. He did have good stuff for college. May have had one or two double digit K games in the minors, showing that the stuff... when right... could be elusive. But like all pitchers that get adjusted to, he was going to have to adjust back at some point... something he probably never had to do at any other point. Not going to comment on work ethic, etc. since none of us are privy to the full details.
The article itself said that he is one of only 3 players ever drafted #1 overall who never made it to the majors. So I'm not so sure on the 50/50. One expects at LEAST a serviceable starter from the overall #1 selection.
Stanford education and a few million dollars is a good fallback. He's the wrongest I've ever been wrong on a guy - not Reed, not Redding, not Hirsch, not nobody. I remember talking to justtxyank or juicystream (has anyone seen them both in the same room?) months before the draft and I was really torn b/t Bryant and Appel. Oops. Bregman is a pretty good consolation 3Bman though. Bryant at 1B....damn, then we could talk about "greatest IF ever".
I know. Are sports psychologists a common thing now with teams? I know of stories of players hiring them personally. How much in his own head is he right now? I can't imagine that level of failure on that big a stage.
I think we're in that discussion now. But if you throw Bryant in at 1B, we are talking 3 true MVP players in their prime for multiple years, and Bregman who is pretty damn good himself. If healthy it wouldn't even be a discussion. But, s**t happens. Sports are an inexact science, and baseball is the least exact of them all. The what if game is so much easier to talk about, and deal with, after you've won a title LOL.
We have no idea how the cards fall if Bryant over Appel. For instance, Aiken may have been the choice, in part, because they had a more polished pitching prospect ahead of him and they assumed they could take a HS pitcher and be more patient. If Bryant, they might have favored Rodon, instead - and if they'd drafted Rodon, they likely don't get Bregman. BUT........ imagining THIS line-up with Kris Bryant is fun so - CARRY ON!
Appel should give the Skeeters or one of these independent leagues a try in a year or two. Fresh start, small time, build up for a comeback like Kazmir and Jason Lane did.
Sports media made HOU a punchline for not holding onto JD Martinez...and now he cant ink more than 100MM. Great hitter for sure, but funny how things lay out sometimes. So good until it's time to pay the man.
I can totally see this happening after a couple of years off. He'll get the itch again and being close to home will make it worth the attempt.
It does seem like he was mentally ill prepared for the "pro" grind of playing baseball, throwing every four or five games, bus rides, etc... Not sure if teams have psychologist or people to help players coming into the profession leagues. Or he could be just be "burned out", probably playing since 5 or 6, all year round, etc... It's a good thing to do and see if he can get back the fire... if not, just move on from baseball.
I'm guessing this is the appropriate thread for this, but I found this to be pretty funny. It's no secret that Lance was never a gym rat, but it's a bit humorous to hear him say this.
As great a player as he was, he actually did underachieve in his career. With his natural hitting talent, if he put in the effort during his mid 30's he might not have fallen off a cliff and would probably be a strong HOF candidate.
