Mick Abel

Abel may have been passed by Andrew Painter as the most exciting pitching prospect in the Phillies' organization, but he got to spend 2023 as the team's most exciting healthy pitching prospect after Painter suffered an elbow injury in March which wound up requiring Tommy John surgery. In some circumstances, that status would have led Abel to a potentially premature MLB debut, but the Phillies didn't wind up needing to reach into their minor-league system for additional depth, and Abel's numbers in 22 outings for Double-A Reading meant he wasn't forcing his way in. Abel's 27.5% strikeout rate was strong and was nearly an exact match for his 27.6% mark from 2022, but his already worrisome 10.6% walk rate jumped all the way to 13.5%. The result was a rather ordinary 4.14 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. Abel won't turn 23 until August, so he has plenty of time to get his 6-foot-5 frame under control and learn to find the zone on a more regular basis. If he does, his stuff will make him a frontline arm, but each season in which he continues to walk too many batters increases the likelihood that he tops out as an unreliable back-end starter or a reliever. Read Past Outlooks