Minor League Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies Set to Promote Highly-Regarded Prospect For Major League Debut

Mick Abel, who was selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB draft, is getting promoted to start on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will oppose Paul Skenes.
Brady Farkas|
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (73) during the first inning of their game with the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 11.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (73) during the first inning of their game with the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 11. | Chris Tilley-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are calling up top pitching prospect Mick Abel to make his major league debut on Sunday.

While he doesn't get the same notoriety as Andrew Painter, the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball and tops in the Philadelphia system, Abel is a highly-regarded right-hander in his own right. Selected No. 15 overall in the 2020 draft, Abel is the No. 8 prospect in the organization, per MLB Pipeline.

He's pitched well so far at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, going 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA. He's struck out 51 batters in 46.1 innings. This is a major improvement from 2024, when he went 3-12 with a 6.46 ERA in 24 appearances.

The Phillies enter play on Friday at 25-18 and in second place in the National League East. They'll take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rivalry series over the weekend. Pittsburgh is 15-29 and in last place in the National League Central.

The following comes from a portion of Abel's MLB.com prospect profile:

Abel still possesses many of the qualities that made him a top Draft prospect, with four or five quality pitches coming from his 6-foot-5 frame. His fastball velocity dipped a bit in 2024, but he was still touching 98 mph and averaging 94.6 mph with his four-seamer, missing a decent amount of bats with it. He also added a two-seamer that generated more contact on the ground. In 2023, his curve, now thrown in the 81-84 mph range, was the better of his two breaking balls, but last year his mid-80s slider was a more consistent option, especially in terms of landing it for strikes. He can sell his upper-80s changeup with sink well.

The game on Sunday will be played at 1:35 p.m. ET and he'll be opposed by reigning National League Rookie of the Year winner Paul Skenes.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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