Spencer Howard and Mark Appel both know the feeling of being the top prospect in an organization, and how it feels to not measure up to the expectations that go with that, at least not so far in their careers.

For Appel, the expectation was compounded by being the top overall pick in the 2013 Draft, expecting to be part of a Houston Astros organization that was looking ahead to better days with some young players coming through the system. As things turned out, Houston did start to turn things around and made a deal to acquire Phillies reliever Ken Giles, one of the first pitchers in the majors to consistently throw 100 miles per hour. The trade included infielder Jonathan Arauz and brought pitchers Appel, Vince Velasquez, Thomas Eshelman, Brett Oberholzer and Harold Arauz back to the Phillies.

The trade hasn’t been as great for either team as they had hoped it would be, but Appel could still make it a win for Philadelphia, which a year ago didn’t seem possible.

After reaching the Triple-A level with the Phillies in 2016, Appel started to struggle on the mound and posted a 4.93 ERA in 25 starts with the IronPigs, as he suffered from a sore shoulder and sore elbow.

Appel walked away from baseball, but never stopped loving the game. Surgery on both his shoulder and elbow got him back to being healthy, and he decided to attempt a comeback, but COVID derailed that effort.

A year after that, the Phillies welcomed him back to the organization with an assignment to Double-A Reading. After six starts and two relief appearances, Appel’s 5.84 ERA didn’t seem to bode well for a promotion, but needing a starter, the Phillies elevated him to Lehigh Valley. In his first two starts, he’s had mixed results, throwing five shutout innings in his first outing, and then allowing two earned runs in 1.2 innings in Buffalo on Friday.

The 29-year-old doesn’t have any guarantees of reaching the majors for the first time, but with the need for pitching in Philadelphia, it’s not out of the question if he can gain consistency.

Meanwhile, it’s unlikely that the 24-year-old Howard will be back in the majors any time soon. After struggling with Philadelphia and bouncing between the bullpen and the rotation, the Phillies threw in the towel and sent Howard back to Lehigh Valley, where he will work exclusively as a starter. This gives him an opportunity to figure things out mechanically, and search for a reason why his velocity dropped after just a few innings in each start with the Phillies. But for now, returning to Philadelphia isn’t on the horizon, and Howard hopes to be able to pitch and regain some confidence as he looks toward the future, and potentially reaching the levels that many thought he would attain more quickly than he has.

In his first start back with Lehigh Valley, Howard threw five shutout innings in Buffalo on Saturday, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out five. The outing lowered his season ERA with the ‘Pigs to 0.64 in four starts.

MEANWHILE, DOWN ROUTE 222 ... The Reading Fightin’ Phillies had four pitchers combine for a no-hitter against the Erie Seawolves on their way to a 3-0 win. Francisco Morales (6.0 IP), Zach Warren (0.2 IP), Kyle Dohy (1.1 IP) and Brian Marconi (1.0 IP) shut down the ‘wolves offense, giving Reading their first combined no-hitter since Craig Holman, Greg Brown, Toby Borland and Ricky Bottalico beat New Britain back in 1993. Morales walked two and struck out six to get the win, his first of the season. Warren, who was recently demoted from Lehigh Valley, walked the bases loaded in the seventh, before Dohy came on to get the final out of the inning. Marconi recorded his fifth save of the season with a clean ninth inning. Daniel Brito and Luke Miller homered for Reading, with Brito launching a two-run shot and Miller a solo home run.

ROUTE 222, PART 2 .... The Bryson Stott watch has begun. The young shortstop was moved from High-A Jersey Shore to Reading after hitting five home runs and batting .288 with a .453 on-base percentage. Stott is starting to settle in with the Fightins, and has four home runs and is hitting .248 with a .344 on-base percentage. Stott will play in the MLB Futures Game on Saturday as part of the All-Star festivities in Colorado.

JIMMIES OR SPRINKLES … The IronPigs will have a temporary identity crisis on their homestand this week, changing their name to the Jimmies on Sunday.