Philadelphia Phillies' Star Pitching Prospect Has Concerning Start To Year

It has not been a great start for one of the Philadelphia Phillies' top pitching prospects and brings into question when his Major League debut might be.

Jul 8, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; National League Futures starting pitcher Mick Abel (25) | Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten great production from their starting rotation to start the season. With their offense performing way below their past output so far, the starters are a main reason why they sit with a record of 11-8 entering Friday.

With their fifth starter Taijuan Walker getting placed on the injured list during spring training, there was some concern about who would take the ball every fifth day.

Manager Rob Thomson gave the nod to Spencer Turnbull and he was delivered great results with a 1.80 ERA over his first three starts.

When Walker comes back, it will be interesting to see what they do with their rotation, but based on how Turnbull has performed so far, this unit is looking like one of the best in baseball.

Before it was proven that the Phillies' offseason addition could be a solid option for them, there was some thought they could call upon their No. 2 prospect Mick Abel.

Ultimately that didn't come to fruition, but with him starting his season at Triple-A this year after throwing in one game at that level during 2023, Philadelphia gets a great chance to see how the talented right-hander will look against higher competition.

So far, it has not been pretty.

Abel is sitting with a 6.94 ERA through his three starts after allowing nine earned runs in 11 2/3 innings pitched. Strikeouts have remained a major positive of his game as he's recorded 14 K's, but he's also walked nine batters.

The former first round draft pick is still just 22-years-old after he was selected out of high school.

Many scouts have said the right-hander could become a staff ace one day, and that's certainly what the Phillies are hoping will happen.

Abel has time to settle in and turn his season around at this level. If he's able to do that, he might get called up to the bigs late in the year.