Mark Appel and Zach Eflin trade Twitter banter

So, about last night.

LONG_DRIVE has already posted a recap of the "game", and it wasn't pretty. The major leaguers, several of them only recently removed from the minors themselves, beat the crap out of the Phillies prospects. The majority of the damage was done against Zach "Keebler" Eflin (nickname tm @dj_mosfett), who gave up 12 runs (nine earned) and four homers in three innings. Mark Appel also pitched three innings and gave up six runs, but he also served up four homers.

So not the most confidence building night for young Eflin and Appel. But the two of them seem to be taking it in stride. Behold, the best Phillies prospect twitter conversation of all time.

We start with Mark Appel lobbing a giant stone from his glass house.

Hey @zeflin12... You suck, keep the ball down.

— Mark Appel (@MAppel26) April 1, 2016

Zach responded the only way a fellow pitcher could.

.@MAppel26 your lucky I didn't have a bat in my hand against you tonight.

— Zach Eflin (@zeflin12) April 1, 2016

You tell him, Zach! But Mark wasn't done.

.@zeflin12 whatever. At least I didn't give up 4 bombs like you.... Oh wait...

— Mark Appel (@MAppel26) April 1, 2016

Ouch. That one had to leave a MARK! (I'll show myself out.) But this has gotten a little real. Mark seems disappointed in his performance. And Zach wasn't going to let that stand.

.@MAppel26 Hey keep your head up and miss a bat next time.

— Zach Eflin (@zeflin12) April 1, 2016

It's not the tweet version of a hug or anything, but it's a nice clap on the back. Keep your head up, Mark! It's going to be okay!

.@zeflin12 thanks bud. At least we are both pretty decent people

— Mark Appel (@MAppel26) April 1, 2016

Awh! Mark appreciates Zach's words of encouragement. And though he probably could have said that they're both great people, "pretty decent" is nothing to sneeze at. But just when you think the conversation is going to end with these lovely-ish lukewarm feelings, someone else enters the picture.

@MAppel26 @zeflin12 hey my bad guys put down the wrong fingers. I'll take the blame.

— Andrew Knapp (@theknappyboy5) April 1, 2016

That would be Andrew Knapp, a Phillies catching prospect, taking the bullet for his pitchers. Chooch has trained him well! But that's not quite the whole story. Knapp entered the game in the sixth inning, replacing Jorge Alfaro. He caught Appel for two innings (though Appel gave up three runs in one of them) and didn't catch Eflin at all. But that didn't seem to make a difference to Zach.

.@theknappyboy5 @MAppel26 even though you didn't catch me it was 100% your fault.

— Zach Eflin (@zeflin12) April 1, 2016

I love these guys. Is it the future yet?