Phillies Prospect Finally Making a Difference

The Phillies called up their 8th ranked prospect to make his major league debut on 5/18/2025.

With the injury to Aaron Nola (not that he was pitching well), plus the inconsistencies of Walker, the Phillies decided to call up Abel. Even with one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, they needed help. Abel was able to provide that. He began his big league career with 10 straight scoreless innings.   

Mick Abel made a difference right away. His first big league start Abel went six innings, allowing five hits, with nine strikeouts, and zero walks. He held the Pirates scoreless for six innings, out pitching Pirates ace, Paul Skenes to secure a win. Pretty cool way to get your first big league W. 

Shortly after Abel was sent back to the minors. Two minor league starts and a poor Taijuan Walker performance later the Phillies prospect was back on the roster, this time meeting up with the team in Toronto. 

On Wednesday he went up against the Blue Jays and delivered another outstanding performance. In his second start, Abel went 5.1 innings with two strikeouts while only allowing 3 hits.

After 11 scoreless innings he was charged his first major league run on a triple to left center from Bo Bichette. The ball should have been caught by Marsh (Kepler also at fault with the way he charged in), which would have kept the scoreless streak alive. In the end the Phillies came up. The way Abel has pitched so far is a great sign for the Phillies. Abel has been exactly what the Phillies needed in his first two starts. 

Walks are an issue? 

One of the knocks on Abel has been his command. He has had a tendency to walk batters in the minors. In his ten starts Abel is averaging 4.1 walks per 9 innings. Many thought this was something that would hurt him at the next level. However, Abel was uber sharp in his debut, throwing 84 pitches, with 62 strikes (73%). Vs. the Blue Jays he threw 78 pitches, with 52 strikes (66%). Abel has yet to walk a batter in the big leagues.

Giving a free pass to any batter will get any pitcher into trouble. Abel has shown the ability to throw strikes, without walking batters, which has led him to success in his first two starts. Furthermore, it’s promising that he went from nine strikeouts in his first game to two in his second while remaining equally as effective. Abel has shown he can effectively get outs in multiple ways. 

Here to Stay

It seems this time Abel will stay on the Phillies roster. A no brainer if you ask me. He has been nothing short of excellent so far and has the chance to implement himself on this team potentially earning playoff innings. With the issues in the bullpen the Phillies will need to make adjustments with the starting staff. In past seasons, we have seen Ranger Suarez, Kyle Gibson, and Zach Eflin move into a bullpen role. Look for Abel to add additional support to the Phillies pitching staff, giving them more options as the season progresses and the postseason comes around. 

Photo Credit: Hunter Martin/Getty Images

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