Mark Appel’s young eyes glazed across the Astrodome during the late 1990s while Larry Dierker managed, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell blasted, and the Astros advanced to the National League Division Series. When a 12-year-old Appel traded Houston for California, his Astros heart remained intact. Even as the future Stanford righthander aged, he followed his hometown team, traveling to take in series when the Astros faced the San Francisco Giants and then-interleague Oakland Athletics. There are family photos from those years. The Appels are wrapped in Astros gear. The future No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 MLB amateur draft is an Astro in waiting. “The boys actually went to [...]