Mick Abel
Crawford may not be the only Phillies prospect who could be traded soon this offseason. You can add former promising top pitching prospect Mick Abel to the list as well. It wasn’t actually too long ago when Abel was recognized as one of the organization’s top prospects along with Andrew Painter. In fact, some had even envisioned the duo as possibly becoming the future one-two punch of the Phillies’ rotation down the road.
While Painter’s journey to the big leagues was stalled due to recovering from Tommy John surgery, Abel, on the other hand, has had his arrival held back due to inconsistency and ineffectiveness that crept into his game this past year. Previously, Abel had put up consecutive solid seasons in 2022 and 2023, in which he registered 13 total wins along with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, 262 strikeouts in 221 2/3 innings pitched.
However, he surprisingly struggled with his control and command this past season, resulting in a dismal 3-12 record with a 6.46 ERA and 1.81 WHIP, giving up 119 hits and 78 earned runs in just 108 2/3 innings of work over 24 starts. Things got so bad at one point that the Phillies even had to send Abel to the development list for a reset and work on getting his game back on track.
That move proved to be vital, as Abel appeared to regain some of his prior form after returning from the development list in August. Taking away his blowup from his final start of the season, he posted a respectable 3.99 ERA and an opponent batting average of .246 with 43 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings over six starts down the stretch for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
In doing so, he has likely done enough to put himself back into the conversation of being a solid top prospect in the organization going forward. The Phillies certainly believe in him, as Abel was protected ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. Other observers have also included him in trade proposals in recent weeks. As a result, he could be the surprise Phillies sleeper on the move next week to help Philadelphia gain a much-needed asset for their 2025 roster.