Phillies Former Top Prospect Has Shaky Second Start with Twins After Huge Trade

The Philadelphia Phillies were at the center of one of the most significant trades of the deadline a couple of weeks ago when they acquired a premiere closer in Jhoan Duran of the Minnesota Twins.

Securing a young, controllable star closer did not come cheap though, and Philadelphia had to deal two blue chip prospects in young catcher Eduardo Tait along with right-hander Mick Abel to land Duran. Tait is already off to a nice start with High-A Cedar Rapids, and Abel made his second appearance with Triple-A St. Paul this weekend after a dominant debut.

In Abel's first start with St. Paul, he tossed five scoreless innings and allowed just one hit, striking out seven and walking two en route to making a statement that he could be back in the big leagues sooner rather than later:

Mick Abel was masterful in his @Twins organizational debut 🌟

5 IP / 1 H / 0 R / 2 BB / 7 K

He averaged 95.3 MPH and had a 50% whiff rate on his secondary pitches⛽️@mickabel13 | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/JdsnXG2oNw
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) August 3, 2025

On Sunday though, Abel was not quite as sharp in his second showing with St. Paul, lasting 4.1 innings and giving up four hits with a run allowed. He did strike out five batters, but command was the biggest concern with four walks and he was removed after 83 pitches, 47 of them going for strikes. It was the shortest outing of the season for Abel.

What Kind of Overall Season Has Abel Had?

Abel's Triple-A numbers are extremely impressive in 2025 with a 2.16 ERA over 15 starts, striking out 93 batters in 83.1 innings pitched. Those 92 strikeouts though have come with 38 walks as well, and when the 23-year-old got his chance in the big leagues with the Phillies this year, the strikeouts were not quite as prevalent.

Abel made six starts for Philadelphia and while there were major flashes, the 5.04 ERA left some to be desired. In all likelihood, he will get another chance to pitch in the Majors this season as the Twins are clearly a rebuilding team following unloading just about everyone at the deadline.

It should also be noted that Duran has been a team-changing acquisition so far, converting all four of his save attempts headed into a new week and allowing just one hit and no walks in four innings. Given that he is arbitration eligible for the next two years after this season, the Phillies clearly felt that he was worth giving up a ton.

Abel may very well prove to be a star in the future, but he still has work to do and Philadelphia's World Series window is open right now. Duran has a chance to help them capitalize on it not just this year, but for two more years after 2025 as well.