When the Philadelphia Phillies dealt away top prospect Mick Abel at the trade deadline, they were giving up on a young pitcher with a chance to be a genuine rotation piece in the big leagues. They were willing to include him in the swap with the Minnesota Twins for elite closer Jhoan Duran for two reasons. One, the Phillies desperately needed a shutdown bullpen arm. Two, they had waited out Abel's command issues long enough.
Abel made his debut with his new team on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Let's just say things didn't go well for the 24-year-old, who ranks as Minnesota's No. 6 MLB Pipeline prospect.
Abel's downfall in the start against the White Sox? His command, which "sent his debut spiraling out of control" (subscription required), per The Athletic's Dan Hayes.
Mick Abel's Twins debut derailed by similar command issues he showed with Phillies
Abel lasted just three innings in the road start at Rate Field, allowing six runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. All six runs were scored in a 39-pitch second inning. After a trio of singles, he walked two batters in a row, the second with the bases loaded to force in a run. The big damage came courtesy of a grand slam off the bat of Colson Montgomery before Abel finally escaped the frame.
To make matters worse, there were even rumblings across social media that perhaps Abel had been tipping pitches.
HAVING A GRAND TIME pic.twitter.com/aZUNWMiCy7
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 23, 2025
“The overarching thing is getting 0-1 [in the count] and not falling behind 1-0 and letting the at-bat get away,” Abel said after the game, per Hayes. “It's something I know and was able to recognize in the moment. It was frustrating not being able to execute like I should. It's something going forward I've got to take that mentality into bullpens.”
Phillies fans are no strangers to Abel's Achilles heel. After his stellar MLB debut in Philadelphia on May 18, Abel struggled with command in many of his following five outings, culminating in a five-run, five-walk disaster on July 2 in which he lasted just 1 2/3 innings against the San Diego Padres. That was his last start in a Phillies uniform.
Saturday's start was certainly a far cry from Abel's debut with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, when he threw five innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts and just two walks. In three Triple-A starts with the Saints, Abel recorded 23 strikeouts and six walks with a 1.76 ERA in 15 1/3 innings, leading to his promotion to the Twins' rotation.
Despite his rough introduction to the fans in the Twin Cities, the Twins still view Abel as a key piece of their future rotation, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.
The 2020 first-round pick flashed the tantalizing stuff that kept the Phillies enthralled through all those years of struggles with command in the Philadelphia farm system. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.3 mph and touched 97.6 mph.
Now the former Phillies top prospect will try to regroup for his next chance to prove to his new team that they made a good choice at the trade deadline.