One of the Philadelphia Phillies’ top pitching prospects will finally make his MLB debut after being drafted five years ago. Mick Abel, the Phillies’ 15th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, will start Sunday against Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
Abel is getting called up as Aaron Nola was placed on the 15-day injured list with a sprained right ankle. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March, Nola suffered the injury during an agility workout prior to his start against the Cleveland Guardians.
Aaron Nola has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right ankle sprain. He suffered the injury during an agility workout prior to his start in Cleveland.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) May 16, 2025
Mick Abel will start on Sunday and Taijuan Walker will return to the rotation in Colorado.
In his last outing before landing on the IL, Nola had the worst start of his career, giving up a career-high in hits (12) and earned runs (9), while tying his career-high in home runs allowed (3), in a 14-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. This marks Nola’s first IL stint since 2017.
For Abel, the journey to the big leagues has been winding. The former first-round pick didn’t play baseball in 2020 after being drafted because the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, delaying his professional debut until 2021.
Command issues have plagued Abel in the minors, where he averages 5.1 walks per nine innings. These struggles peaked in 2024, when his ERA ballooned to 6.46 in Triple-A, with 6.5 walks per nine innings and a 1.813 WHIP. During this period, he also lost velocity on his fastball, which typically touches the high 90s.
However, Abel has turned things around this season. Before his promotion, the right-hander posted a 2.52 ERA across eight starts, striking out 51 over 46 1/3 innings while reducing his walks per nine to 3.7.
The 23-year-old, 6-foot-5 right-hander is currently ranked as the Phillies’ No. 8 prospect. If Abel performs well, he could either secure a spot in the rotation or become a valuable trade piece to help the Phillies acquire bullpen help or a right-handed power bat.
The Phillies are also expected to promote top pitching prospect Andrew Painter later this summer. Painter is currently developing in Triple-A.
