May 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Mick Abel (40) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Abel's Record-Breaking Debut Shows Why Teams Need To Trust Prospect's Ceiling

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Anders Pryor | Last updated May 19, 2025 7:00 PM ET

In a stacked rivalry weekend filled with some of the best storylines, Mick Abel's MLB debut was one of the most surprising. Not only in how amazing it was, but how it almost didn't happen.

Abel, 23, tied the franchise record for strikeouts in a major league debut at nine, first set by Curt Simmons in 1947. The record went along with six scoreless innings and zero walks in a 1-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where Abel went toe-to-toe with Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Here’s every strikeout from Mick Abel’s scoreless debut.

9 strikeouts. 5 on the curveball, 1 on the slider, 2 on the fastball, and 1 on the sinker.

He didn’t walk one batter all day. pic.twitter.com/jxlIzhf7R9
— Luke Arcaini (@ArcainiLuke) May 18, 2025

Aaron Nola was on the 15-Day IL with a sprained ankle, causing Abel's callup.

Abel having the debut he had is not only exciting, but important and demonstrative. The Phillies had every reason to make him prove himself more in Triple-A Lehigh Valley despite the 2.53 ERA. His body of work in the minor leagues leading up to 2025 was riddled with location and command issues. His fastball-curveball-slider tandem had outstanding shape and velocity, but he couldn't quite use it to the best of his abilities. This led to issues with walking batters, manifesting in a 1.81 WHIP in 2024.

The organization had every right to mark Abel as "too raw" or think that his 2025 ERA was too small a sample size. They could have looked at his should injury history and tried to play it safe.

But Philadelphia has always known how talented Abel is. With Jose Nola on IL and Jose Alvarado's suspension for PEDs, the Phillies' pitching room needed a real spark of joy. Abel provided that, but his work isn't done. While he's going back down to Lehigh Valley on Monday, the clubhouse can't unsee the amazing work he's done.

“If he keeps throwing the ball like that, I guarantee he’s going to be back,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Phillies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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