Mick Abel, Other Phillies Stars Excited for His Major League Debut

Sometimes the world of professional baseball can be cruel for highly-touted prospects, and that seemed like it was going to be the case for Philadelphia Phillies young pitcher Mick Abel.

After being taken in the first round of the 2020 draft, he was considered one of the future stars of this franchise, immediately vaulting in top prospect status where he was ranked No. 2 in the Phillies' pipeline from 2021-24.

That changed last year.

Promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the full campaign, the young pitcher looked overwhelmed with an ERA of 6.46 across his 24 starts where he walked 78 batters in 108 2/3 innings pitched with just 117 strikeouts in comparison.

The struggles got to the point where Philadelphia put him on the developmental list, a status that allowed Abel to work on things without being in live game action.

That seems to have paid off in a major way with Abel getting some redemption in Triple-A so far this season with a 2.53 ERA across his eight starts where he has much better command with only 19 walks in 46 1/3 innings pitched to go along with 51 strikeouts.

His performance caught the eye of the Phillies' decision makers, and now he's going to get his first taste of The Show on Sunday.

It goes without saying that Abel is excited, but he isn't the only one looking forward to his debut.

"He's had some ups and downs in the minor leagues, obviously, but he's been throwing the ball great this year from what we've seen," Bryce Harper told Phillies Nation. "I'm excited for him, man."

The superstar slugger wasn't the only one to have that sentiment.

Fresh off another dominant performance, staff ace Zack Wheeler shared his thoughts about the young starting pitcher getting his first taste of the bigs.

"I'm excited for Abel, he's worked hard. Happy to see him up and getting a chance," he told reporters after the game on Saturday.

Abel already has a locker with his name on it in the clubhouse, something that will be a short-lived thing since manager Rob Thomson already told the star prospect that he would be sent back down after this outing.

That is a strategy the skipper has used in the past, and he believes it takes pressure off the players who have been called up since they know they can just go out there and play their game without feeling like they need to impress so they can potentially stay.

Abel's time will eventually come, but a more expanded role likely won't come until 2026 at the earliest.

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