Happy Mark Appel Day!

Mark Appel will make his professional debut tonight for Tri-City against Lowell, where it's expected he'll throw two innings, or 30 pitches. Here's a roundup of links for your reading pleasure:

A paywalled Zachary Levine story from the Chronicle. 

The Albany Times-Union: 

It's weird doing these press conferences because I still see myself as just another baseball player. It's a real honor to be able to be here. I'm just really excited....I think there will always be a special place in my heart for Tri-City, the fans here and the city of Troy.

The Hudson Register-Star

I have always been big on relationships. I just think being able to meet the guys for 10 to 15 minutes, the Astros have some great guys in the organization [and] combined that with a lot of talent. I think championships are in the future. 

The Saratogian:

If I start thinking about being in Houston in September...I still have to go out and pitch two innings (tonight) and do my best. And then I have to pitch the next outing, and then the next outing. I tend to focus on what I can control and focus on the current thing that I'm doing. 

A blurry CBS Sports photo of Appel in a ValleyCats jersey.