{"id":74322,"date":"2025-08-07T09:06:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T09:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=74322"},"modified":"2025-08-07T09:06:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T09:06:31","slug":"mick-abel-is-hitchhiking-his-way-to-the-top-of-minnesotas-prospect-list-zone-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=74322","title":{"rendered":"Mick Abel Is Hitchhiking His Way To the Top Of Minnesota’s Prospect List – Zone Coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/i>Twins<\/p>\n

\"Mick<\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

\n

St. Paul \u2013 The Minnesota Twins received eight pitchers back in their deadline deals last week. However, none of them is as highly ranked as Mick Abel, their return for Jhoan Duran.<\/p>\n

Abel is just under two weeks from turning 24 and is the Philadelphia Phillies\u2019 first-round pick from the shortened 2020 MLB Draft. He\u2019s consistently been ranked as a top 100 prospect since being drafted and has worked relentlessly to get his fastball up to 99 MPH.<\/p>\n

He had a dominant start to the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Abel posted a 2.53 ERA, striking out 51, walking 19 batters, and holding them to a .215 opponents\u2019 average through 46 \u2153 innings over eight starts. It earned him a call-up to the majors on May 18, where he debuted opposite Paul Skenes.<\/p>\n

The Phillies immediately sent Abel back down, but he came up to make five more starts from June 4 to July 2. He has been back at Triple-A since then, working on building up his strengths as a pitcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some things I strayed away from, some strengths that I strayed away from, not on purpose, but more just out of curiosity of other things,\u201d said Abel. \u201cAnd so the main objective was getting back to doing those things and just keeping doing my thing. Get back to being consistent and get back to baseline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abel had reached that baseline and more, allowing only five runs in 17 innings over three starts. The Phillies were buyers at this deadline, and Abel knew his name was in trade rumors as they tried to add major-league talent.<\/p>\n

He was ready for departure. Abel had his apartment packed up before the Pigs left for Worcester. However, when his phone rang with a call from Phillies GM Preston Mattingly in the early evening on Wednesday, July 30, all the planning and preparation weren\u2019t enough to prepare him for the emotional shock of hearing the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a really good conversation about it,\u201d Abel said. \u201cI could have prepared all I wanted to for it. I packed my apartment before we left for Worcester, just in case, just to make it a little easier if it did happen, but mentally, it was really tough. I was not expecting it to be that tough mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the next 24 hours, Abel packed his bags and was off to Toledo. The mental challenge for him was saying quick goodbyes to many players, coaches, training staff, and all the people he\u2019d come to know as a member of the Phillies organization over the last five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re leaving those relationships of the last five years with a lot of different people, top to bottom of the organization,\u201d said Abel. \u201cThankfully, it\u2019s more of a see you later, and baseball is small, so we\u2019ll see them again down the road, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Saints clubhouse welcomed Abel into the clubhouse in Toledo as if he\u2019d been there all year, which made the adjustment meaningfully easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great guy,\u201d said Saints catcher Patrick Winkel. \u201cI mean, he came into the clubhouse and immediately was meshing with everybody. Went out of his way to meet everyone, shake their hand, and introduce himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abel left a strong impression immediately. He\u2019s only made six starts in the majors. Still, the way he carries himself shows the maturity he has for someone younger than most of his competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a 23 or 24-year-old, he\u2019s really polished mentally,\u201d said Saints pitching coach Jonas Lovin. \u201cHe knows who he is, and he\u2019s coachable. There\u2019s a nice balance that he\u2019s coachable, but he still understands what makes him really good and understands what works for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s great,\u201d added Saints manager Toby Gardenhire. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s nasty, he\u2019s got great stuff. You can definitely see what we saw in him with the trade situation, and the guy really throws it, man. He\u2019s pretty polished. I totally foresee him being in the big leagues sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polished mentally and as an arm on the mound, Abel\u2019s reputation preceded him in his first start with the Saints. He threw five scoreless innings, allowing just two walks and one hit while striking out seven Toledo Mud Hens.<\/p>\n

It was his sixth scoreless outing of the season. Before the start, Winkel told him that he was open to however Abel wanted to execute his pitches and would follow his lead. Fortunately, Abel and Winkel clicked almost immediately with their communication on calling pitches, and things locked into order for the new battery mates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were both thinking the same way, and the way he thinks about pitching and the way that he attacks hitters and kind of his sequencing is similar to how I wanted to kind of call the game,\u201d said Winkel. \u201cBut also just the ability to command, too. Execute pitches and set up on a spot that, chances are, that\u2019s where he\u2019s going to throw the ball. It makes my life a lot easier, and it makes the game more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a simple guy, so I feel like it could be easy for anybody, but I think the vibe here with pitching is fairly similar to what I\u2019m used to,\u201d Abel said. \u201cIt was honestly a really seamless transition. The pre-game went as expected. It was very similar to what I would have done with the Phillies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abel dominated Toledo\u2019s hitters with his fastball and changeup all afternoon in his last start, but he\u2019s ecstatic about using his curveball for the rest of his season. He doesn\u2019t have the traditional grip of a curveball as he uses his index finger to pinch the ball rather than a typical two-finger grip. Abel calls the grip the hitchhiker, because its release point to hitters looks like he\u2019s sticking out his thumb for a free ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my curveball. I just think it\u2019s effective, so I\u2019m comfortable with it,\u201d Abel said. \u201cI like using it at the bottom of the zone; I\u2019ll snipe on the outer half to some lefties. I think that\u2019s my strongest secondary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abel is one of four players the Twins acquired at the trade deadline that they assigned to Triple-A St. Paul. His arrival there gives Twins fans plenty to be excited about for the future, as they will have an easy time getting out to see his starts at either CHS or Target Field, while the Twins play spoiler in the American League playoff race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. Paul \u2013 The Minnesota Twins received eight pitchers back in their deadline deals last week. 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