After Two Great Starts, Twins' Mick Abel Lands on Injured List

More bad news for the Twins, as one of their key starting pitchers hits the shelf.

Apr 14, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Mick Abel (20) delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Target Field. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Twins placed starting pitcher Mick Abel on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on Monday afternoon.

This is a tough blow for the Twins' rotation. After struggling in his first two outings of the season, Abel had been outstanding in his two most recent appearances. He went six scoreless innings with six strikeouts against the Tigers on April 9, then went seven scoreless with 10 Ks against the Red Sox last Tuesday. His season ERA through four appearances is 3.98, with the arrow only pointing up.

Less than a week ago, on April 14, Abel carved up the Red Sox and Byron Buxton blasted two home runs in a 6-0 Twins win that moved them to 11-7 on the season, the best record in the American League. Since then, they've lost four straight games — including three close, frustrating losses against the Reds over the weekend — and have now lost one of their most promising young players to injury. Things change quick in baseball.

"Inflammation" is a scary word when it comes to a pitcher's throwing arm. The hope will be that this isn't something that leads to an extended absence for Abel, and that he can resume his positive momentum sometime in May. Only time will tell on that front.

Abel was set to start for the Twins on Tuesday at Citi Field against the Mets. The silver lining is that another high-upside arm in Minnesota's system now appears likely to get the nod in that game instead. Left-hander Connor Prielipp, the Twins' top pitching prospect, is reportedly headed to the big leagues and would be a logical candidate to start on Tuesday night. Prielipp has a 2.30 ERA in 15 innings this season and most recently threw a season-high 5 frames (with 76 pitches) last Thursday.

Update: Simeon Woods Richardson's start is being bumped up to Tuesday. Wednesday is TBD, which could be the spot for Prielipp's debut.

Fellow left-handed pitching prospect Kendry Rojas is also reportedly headed to the Twins and set to make his debut. Rojas has only thrown 7.1 innings this season, including 3.1 and 50 pitches piggybacking Prielipp on Thursday, so he'll likely pitch out of Minnesota's bullpen. The roster moves aren't official yet, but Rojas could replace Andrew Morris or take Kody Funderburk's roster spot while he goes to the paternity list.

Abel led all of baseball with 27 strikeouts in spring training, where he recorded a 2.05 ERA. He got hit around in his first two outings of the regular season, but one was as a piggyback pitcher in relief and the other was in difficult weather conditions. Over his last two starts, he's thrown 13 scoreless frames and looked like a potential future ace.