Is This a Struggling Top Prospect's Last Chance To Impress Philadelphia Phillies?

After a poor season a year ago, this could be the last chance for one of the Philadelphia Phillies former top prospects to impress the team.

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 / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are excited about Andrew Painter.

The superstar top prospect returned to the mound in the Arizona Fall League after missing the past two years because of Tommy John surgery. And after the extended time off, he showcased why he is considered one of the best young pitchers in the sport.

It was enough for the Phillies to outright admit Painter is going to debut this season.

The plan is to call him up in July, giving him a chance to face Major League hitters for the first time during the latter parts of summer which should help him become a huge force for this pitching staff when it matters in October.

Someone who was talked about in the same way as Painter for a while was Mick Abel.

Like Painter, he was a first-round pick, selected 15th overall in 2020.

Abel was immediately a prospect darling, debuting at No. 2 in Philadelphia's farm system rankings and staying in that spot for three consecutive years until 2024 when he dropped to fifth per MLB Pipeline.

How he's viewed coming into this campaign is much different after a disastrous showing this past season at Triple-A where he posted a 3-12 record and 6.46 ERA across his 24 starts, walking a staggering 78 batters compared to 117 strikeouts in 108.2 innings pitched.

The Phillies even moved him to the development list in August to allow him to step back and work on whatever was ailing him without the pressures of a game, whether that be physical or mental.

That was not what anyone expected to see, especially since he's been a 4.09 ERA guy in the three professional seasons before that, striking out 328 batters across 266.1 innings pitched with 142 walks.

So, coming into this campaign after Philadelphia added another starting pitcher and are already planning on Painter to make his debut, the question surrounding Abel is if he's now out of the equation when it comes to his future with the organization?

There's a chance.

That was not a good showing, and despite being 23 years old and one of the youngest players at the Triple-A level, it was eye-opening to see him struggle so much with his command.

But, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports the Phillies have been patient with the top prospect, even turning down offers made for him despite the issues he displayed.

"No doubt, 2025 is a big year for Abel. If he does show more conviction on the mound, he's not far from being a contributor ... Teams were still interested in Abel at last summer's trade deadline — perhaps thinking they could buy low. The Phillies didn't budge there. He has to show improvement in 2025," he wrote.

The final statement the insider made takes everything back to the original thought; is this Abel's last chance to impress the organization?

The answer would be yes.

Philadelphia has Aaron Nola locked up long term and Wheeler set to finish out his prime years with the team. Cristopher Sanchez appears to be an emerging star, Painter could be the best pitcher in the league at some point and Jesus Luzardo is here for the next two seasons.

There's not a lot of room for Abel in that scenario.

If he comes back this year and looks like the past version of himself while performing well against Triple-A hitters, then the Phillies might view him and Painter as their one-two punch of the future like they envisioned a few seasons ago.

If not, Philadelphia will ship him out of town.

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