Mick Abel shines in history-making Phillies debut after overcoming rocky 2024 season

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Before he stood in front of a packed Citizens Bank Park and delivered one of the best Phillies starting pitching debuts ever, Mick Abel took a moment to himself.

He descended the steps of the bullpen, letting his thoughts flow as he looked around.

He felt grateful. He had made it — to the big leagues, sure, but also out of his own head. Out of the woes of 2024, when command evaded him, his fastball velocity dipped and his ERA ballooned to 6.46 in Triple A. 

“There were times I didn’t think I would be (here last summer),” Abel said. “But there were other times where I would. I mean, I think it’s just kind of going through the ups and downs and trying to understand how to go through this.”

Abel, 23, didn’t know what to expect when he debuted Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. What he didn’t and couldn’t have dreamt of was earning his first big-league win, pitching six shutout innings, striking out nine — tied for most among Phillies starters in a debut, and the most since 1947 — and outdueling All-Star Paul Skenes as the Phillies won 1-0. He threw 84 pitches, 62 for strikes, and became just the third big leaguer to allow no runs and zero walks over six or more innings with nine strikeouts in his debut. 

Mick Abel leaves the sixth having tied the record for most strikeouts by a Phillies starting pitcher in a debut in the modern era (9).

The pitcher he’s tied with? Curt Simmons, who struck out nine in 1947. pic.twitter.com/PU2BEj0tLb

— Charlotte Varnes (@charlottevarnes) May 18, 2025

Walking off the field to a standing ovation marked the end of a winding road for Abel, who graduated from Jesuit High School (Ore.) in 2020 and was taken 15th by the Phillies in the 2020 MLB Draft, which was shortened to five rounds during the pandemic. The right-hander missed out on what would’ve been his first minor-league season in 2020 before climbing the Phillies system from 2021-23. He ended 2023 with a 4.13 ERA across 22 games with Double-A Reading and one with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. 

He watched as other pitchers were plucked from Triple A and given opportunities to start last year: Seth Johnson, Tyler Phillips, Michael Mercado, Kolby Allard. Abel remained in Lehigh Valley, fighting through each start. 

Abel would oscillate between being two different pitchers: one in charge of the game, allowing a handful of runs; the other, letting up nine runs, seven runs, six runs in outings as he struggled with control. 

Those around him agree: Abel is not that pitcher anymore. He’s matured. He commands the zone. He looks at ease. The overthinking has been reshaped to help him rather than hurt him. 

“I think he slowed everything down today, stayed in the moment, and that’s part of the experience of growing up,” manager Rob Thomson said. 

“How guys pitch and watching them is a window into what’s going on,” pitching coach Caleb Cotham said. “He just looks calm. He looks electric. He looks intense. But he looks like he’s enjoying his pitching. He’s pitching free, and he’s got an edge to him — knowing he doesn’t have to make perfect pitches to have good outcomes.” 

Before each game, Thomson asks Cotham how the starting pitcher looks in the bullpen. On Sunday, Cotham told him Abel looked, “really good, very calm, very poised.” They knew it would be fun. 

Catcher Rafael Marchán, who worked with Abel amid his struggles in Triple A, knew it in the bullpen, too. The fastball and slider moved just as they needed to, he said. 

The fastball had life from the get-go. Abel reached 99 mph on his first batter, Oneil Cruz, whom he struck out. The curveball was sharp, drawing eight of his 18 whiffs. He struck out Adam Frazier on a 97.8 mph fastball in the second, as the veteran swung with nothing to hit. He fooled Andrew McCutchen with a 96.4 mph sinker in the third, before the former Phillie lined out on another sinker. Fans cheered after Abel made it through an 11-pitch at-bat against Frazier in the fourth, retiring him on a flyout to left. 

“I think he slowed everything down today, stayed in the moment, and that’s part of the experience of growing up,” manager Rob Thomson said. (Hunter Martin / Getty Images)

Abel’s biggest goals were to have fun, enjoy the moment and try to get outs — not to reach 99 mph, which he attributed to the initial adrenaline rush. He hit his groove by the third or fourth.

“I felt like I was going out there a little more in control of what I wanted to do,” he said. 

That could be said about Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, or any given start this season at Triple A. Abel owns a 2.53 ERA across eight minor-league starts in 2025. His walks have dropped from 6.4 per nine innings last season to 3.69 per nine this year. The overall improvement stems from “knowing what’s in my control, and letting go of whatever’s out of it,” he said.

That perspective came after offseason reflection. Abel knew he was still good at baseball. He just needed to attack 2025 with a different plan, a different mentality. 

During the offseason, each Phillies pitcher is paired with a coach to guide them through their throwing program. Abel was paired with Cotham. There was no guesswork. Everything Abel was instructed to do was just what he’d do when he got to camp in Clearwater. 

The 2024 season could have shaken Abel’s confidence, Phillies director of pitching development Casey Weathers said. Instead, he learned from it. 

“It wasn’t this one lightbulb moment,” Weathers said. “It’s that, over time, Mick was getting a very clear message: He could use his brain to go attack those problems rather than where it goes off the rails.” 

The command returned. Abel didn’t get many innings in big-league spring training, but Thomson noticed improved strike-throwing and better body language and composure. He was “much better, much more mature, much more sure of himself,” Thomson said. 

Sometimes Abel would throw the ball away to hitters last season, Marchán said. That’s not what he saw in the bullpen Sunday, saying Abel was in control of what he was going to do. 

It’s taken work and reflection to bring these traits to the forefront. But Phillies amateur area scout Zach Friedman saw the makings of this in Abel in 2020 — “moxie, poise on the mound, everything you want in a starting pitching prospect,” he said. 

We’re not crying, you are 🥹 pic.twitter.com/HjXF50Avm3

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 18, 2025

Friedman, who had not seen Abel pitch since high school, flew to Philadelphia on Saturday — part of a large crew of family and friends celebrating the pitcher’s rise to the majors. The group gathered on the field postgame to celebrate and take photos. While the Phillies were on a time-crunch, readying for their West Coast road trip, Abel prepared to return to Lehigh Valley. 

There’s a strong chance Abel comes back to Philadelphia given his lights-out showing — plus reliever José Alvarado’s 80-game PED suspension, which leaves the Phillies hurting for bullpen help. For now, the Phillies want Abel to continue to start. That’s why he’ll return to Allentown, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said pregame, adding there was no consideration of keeping Abel up despite the suspension. 

Abel wants to be back with the Phillies, of course. But, for now, it’s taking what he can from Sunday: what he did well, can do better, and how he can attack going forward. 

That he can reflect on next week. Sunday was for basking in the moment. The drive into the stadium, watching the outlines of the other sports facilities appear before pulling into Citizens Bank Park. The run down the bullpen stairs. Waving to his family in the ninth inning. Hugs and photos on the field.

There’s plenty of time to think about how he’ll get back to the majors. But only one debut day. 

(Top photo: Hunter Martin / Getty Images)

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