Phillies' Superstar Pitching Prospect Ready For Major League Debut

After the Philadelphia Phillies ultimately failed to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto, there were some expectations that they would largely put the free agent market in their rearview mirror when it comes to the high-profile players.

But, a report came out that they might still have their eye one some of the best starting pitchers available.

That seems to contradict the other reports that have come out about them only viewing Yamamoto as the pitcher they would go over the next level of the luxury tax for, but this is also the Hot Stove and anything is possible.

The Phillies might not need to pursue these free agents because it looks like one of their superstar pitching prospects is ready for MLB action.

According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Philadelphia's No. 2 prospect and the No. 45 overall prospect in baseball, Mick Abel, could find himself pitching in the bigs next season.

"If he takes a step forward next year, he should push for a promotion. After all, how many times does a team use only five starters for an entire season? Hint: The Phillies have not used fewer than seven since 1901," he writes.

Abel was the their first round draft pick in 2020 after being selected 15th overall. He hasn't quite blown people away at the minor league level, posting a record of 14-20 and an ERA of 4.09 across 60 career starts, but his WHIP of 1.28, opponent's batting average of .205 and 328 strikeouts over 266 1/3 innings pitched shows he has a high ceiling.

The 22-year-old righty was also promoted to Triple-A last season where he made one start, giving up two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings pitched with six strikeouts.

The Phillies have proven they aren't afraid to promote their top pitching prospects and Abel could be the next one that is making an impact at the Major League level in 2024.