Mark Appel Near Promotion To Triple-A

The Houston Astros are close to promoting Mark Appel to Triple-A Fresno and may do so before his next start, according to sources.

Appel turned in an excellent outing on Sunday, but the move wasn't immediately made.

In five starts since his ERA ballooned to 6.03 on May 22, the first No. 1 overall pick has allowed seven earned runs in 29 innings — good for a 2.14 ERA — with 24 strikeouts and just eight walks. He’s lowered his overall ERA to 4.26.