Phillies Planning To Call Up Mick Abel for His First Major League Start on Sunday

Mick Abel is being called by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; National League Futures starting pitcher Mick Abel (25) of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches to the American League during the first inning of the All Star-Futures game at T-Mobile Park / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

There was a quite a bit of news on the pitching front for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Not only did they move Aaron Nola to the injured list because of a sprained ankle, but the team also announced that star pitching prospect Moises Chace will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow.

The loss of Nola will reinsert Taijuan Walker into the starting rotation after he had become a solid option out of the bullpen. However, he won't be making his return during their weekend series.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported that the Phillies are planning to call up Mick Abel to make his Major League debut on Sunday.

Abel has had a massive turnaround this season.

After he struggled mightily in 2024 at the Triple-A level, he was moved to the developmental list, a decision that allowed him to work on things further without pitching in a live game setting.

That seems to have paid off in a major way.

So far with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year, the right-hander has posted a 2.53 ERA in his eight starts, striking out 51 batters in 46 1/3 innings pitched while issuing only 19 walks.

Abel was Philadelphia's first-round pick in 2020, becoming an immediate top prospect in their pipeline where he ranked second from 2021-24 until he had those struggles last season.

Now, despite being ranked eighth, he looks like the coveted future star that he was billed to be.

How he performs will be interesting to see.

He's going up against phenom Paul Skenes, so a side by side comparison will give the Phillies, and other teams, a solid visual about how Abel looks compared to one of the game's brightest stars.

Manager Rob Thomson already told Abel that Sunday will be his lone start, so he'll get sent back to Lehigh Valley following the outing. But getting him his first taste of big league action is a huge milestone for both the player and team.

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