Inside The Phillies

Embattled Former Philadelphia Phillies Top Prospect Has Uneven Spring Debut

The Philadelphia Phillies former top prospect had a rocky start to his spring training on Tuesday.

Dylan Sanders

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Phillies had an important player make his spring training debut on Tuesday afternoon, and the results were mixed.

Mick Abel, the former 15th overall selection in the 2020 draft and top prospect, made his first start of the spring against the Boston Red Sox.

His potential debut has been anticipated for Phillies fans and decision makers alike, but many are wondering what type of player he will become since regression in the minors has started to make those same people worried.

Abel was once a top-50 prospect in all of baseball and has now fallen to the No. 8 prospect in Philadelphia's farm system alone.

While it wasn't all bad, Tuesday's start won't silence the doubters.

His first inning actually went about as well as one could have hoped for when he got Jarren Duran and Alex Bregman out to get thins started. It took 10 pitches to get it done, but those are two elite hitters and getting them out was a great sign.

Triston Casas then drew a full count walk before Kolten Wong struck out on three pitches to end the inning.

To get away from the top of the Red Sox lineup relatively unscathed is no small feat. Especially since these guys have been playing for weeks and it was Abel's first outing.

The second inning, however, did not go well at all.

It started with three straight singles and then a double. Abel ended up allowing three earned runs and then a fourth unearned run went by on a throwing error.

He ended his day after 1.2 innings with a 16.20 ERA.

It didn't go as planned, and this is still not the level the Phillies want their former first-round pick after he struggled so mightily last season.

He is still just 23 years old despite being in the system since 2021, but the runway of that benefit of the doubt is getting shorter by the day.

2024 was the first time he had a bad campaign with a 6.46 ERA over 24 starts.

He will need to find consistency as his spring continues if he wants to go into the regular season with any sort of positive momentum.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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