Houston Astros: Top 10 Prospects

2. SP Mark Appel- Appel had a bit of a rough go of it in the beginning. He was drafted a few picks behind Correa by the Pirates after many speculated the Astros would take him. He didn’t reach a deal with the Pirates and re-entered the draft the next season after pitching his senior year as a Stanford Cardinal. He was then taken with Houston’s first overall selection. He has the potential to be an ace, but he has some work to do still. Appel struggled early on; he had a 9.74 ERA in his first 12 starts. A promotion to Double-A helped, and with more seasoning, Appel looks like he can come up and possibly be what the Astros want. He has ace potential, and though he may not be the most exciting pitcher, he figures to get the job done with a good fastball and decent secondary stuff to back it up.  Grade: A  Upside: A top 30 starter, an ace for Houston