Phillies Snag Mick Abel at Pick 15 in the MLB Draft

With the 15th pick in the MLB draft the Phillies picked right handed pitcher Mick Abel, out of Jesuit high school. Abel’s only 18 years old, 6’5” and weighs 190 lbs and looks the part of a big league starter. Abel was the Gatorade high school player of the year in Oregon and was the first high school pitcher off the board tonight. He went 10-0 with a 1.26 ERA and led his school to a state title in his junior season last year.

Abel wasn’t able to play in his senior season due to the state of Oregon shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic. He was showing out during this spring though with plenty of videos of him pitching and working out. Abel was considered one of the top high school pitching prospects. With a mid 90’s fastball that has been clocked as high as 97 and the best slider in the draft, he’s got the stuff where he can develop into a true number one ace.

Former Colorado Rockies general manager and current MLB network analyst comparison for Abel is Justin Verlander. Abel has also received comps to Jack Flaherty, Rick Porcello, and Stephen Strasburg. There were some concerns last year with his weight but he answered some of those by adding on 15 lbs before this season was supposed to happen. Most scouts don’t have any major concerns with Abel. Bolstering up the pitching staff in the farm system seems like a smart move. Without much hype in the system besides Spencer Howard, adding a guy who fans and the organization can look forward to watching develop in the minors before moving up to the big leagues in a few years seems like the right choice. It looks like the Phils got a potential stud here at 15 and hopefully a guy we can all be excited about when he’s on the mound in a few years.