Mark Appel’s Season Is Over

Pitching: It’s not good for you.

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

With young pitching being such an integral part of the Phillies current rebuild, it was all but inevitable that the injury bug would be a factor this season. The human arm is not built to endure the stress of pitching and, as a result, pitching injuries are ubiquitous in baseball.

Early indications are (*knock on wood*) Vince Velasquez’s recent health scare was a minor issue which he has already put behind him, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for pitching prospect Mark Appel. At the…