{"id":77258,"date":"2025-08-14T01:37:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T01:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=77258"},"modified":"2025-08-14T01:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T01:37:46","slug":"twins-discuss-how-new-pitching-prospect-mick-abel-can-be-minnesota-twins-next-joe-ryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=77258","title":{"rendered":"Twins Discuss: How New Pitching Prospect Mick Abel Can Be Minnesota Twins’ Next Joe Ryan?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Twins see parallels between a past trade deadline success story and one of their newest pitching prospects.<\/p>\n

When the Twins acquired\u00a0Joe Ryan\u00a0in the\u00a0Nelson Cruz\u00a0trade, he was an overlooked arm in the Tampa Bay Rays system. His minor league numbers were strong, but he was blocked from breaking into a rotation stacked with established big-league arms. The Rays moved him, and the Twins reaped the rewards.<\/p>\n

Now, the organization hopes to strike gold again.\u00a0Mick Abel, the 23-year-old right-hander acquired from Philadelphia in the\u00a0Jhoan Duran\u00a0trade, found himself in a similar situation. The Phillies\u2019 rotation featured\u00a0Zack Wheeler, Christopher Sanchez,\u00a0Jesus Luzardo, and\u00a0Ranger Suarez, leaving little room for a young starter to break through. Minnesota saw an opportunity to add a talented arm whose timeline and development could align perfectly with their long-term plans.<\/p>\n

Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll\u00a0recently discussed Abel\u2019s background on Inside Twins.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s still just 23 years old. He\u2019s pitching at Triple-A. The biggest thing Mick has improved upon this year is improving his strike throwing, and that\u2019s really been helpful for him to take another step.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Do you approve of the job Rocco Baldelli is doing as Twins manager?<\/h3>\n
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    Abel\u2019s repertoire is as promising as it is electric. \u201c[His] fastball averages 96, has touched 99, curveball and changeup are really good swing and miss pitches for him,\u201d Zoll said. Those weapons make him a strong fit for a Twins staff that values high-velocity heaters paired with secondaries that can miss bats.<\/p>\n

    He\u2019s also showing progress in key areas after repeating Triple-A in 2025. Last season, he posted a 22.7% strikeout rate and a 15.1% walk rate over 108 2\/3 innings. This year, his strikeout rate is up by 4.6 percentage points, and his walk rate is down by four. His strike percentage has climbed from just under 60% to 63.3%. Those incremental gains are meaningful and signal that his adjustments are paying off.<\/p>\n

    The slider remains a development priority. \u201cI think some opportunities for us to help him refine his slider a little bit more and make that a little bit more of a weapon against righties,\u201d Zoll explained. \u201cFor him, it\u2019s really just keep getting innings under your belt and make sure you are as prepared as possible. He got a cameo of sorts at the big-league level earlier this year, and we want to make sure he can keep pushing forward developmentally to take that next step.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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    There are already signs of improvement. His slider velocity has jumped from an average of 84.4 mph last season to 86.4 mph in 2025, and hitters are offering at it more often. His swing rate against the pitch has increased from 43.9% to 47.4%, helping him generate more whiffs. Even so, the Twins know the leap from Triple-A to the majors remains steep, and they want to make sure Abel has fully adjusted to his new organization before taking it.<\/p>\n

    Some fans have questioned why Abel has not been promoted immediately. Zoll said the decision is about more than just performance. \u201cWhen a player is traded to a new organization, their whole world is turned upside down,\u201d he explained. \u201cFor all these guys, we talked about a lot of different things. How to get them acclimated into the organization. How to give them the best runway to try and take a long-term view and set them up for success for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

    That means resisting the urge to rush. \u201cIf you put them right at the big-league level, they are going to feel that extra pressure to perform for their new teammates,\u201d Zoll said. \u201cAll these expectations that they may be putting on themselves. So, allow them to settle in.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The Twins believe Abel\u2019s development path could mirror Ryan\u2019s in 2021. In the short term, he will continue to make starts in Triple-A while focusing on minor refinements that could pay big dividends. As Zoll summarized, \u201cIn Mick\u2019s case, get a few more starts under his belt, see if we can help him make a few of those tweaks to really catapult him for the long-term here.\u201d<\/p>\n

    If Abel\u2019s progress continues, the Twins might once again find themselves with a rotation anchor who only needed the right opportunity to shine.<\/p>\n

    Can Abel turn into the next Ryan? What is his biggest improvement area? Leave a comment and start the discussion.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Twins see parallels between a past trade deadline success story and one of their newest pitching prospects. When the Twins acquired\u00a0Joe Ryan\u00a0in the\u00a0Nelson Cruz\u00a0trade, he was… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":77261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nTwins Discuss: How New Pitching Prospect Mick Abel Can Be Minnesota Twins' Next Joe Ryan? - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=77258\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Twins Discuss: How New Pitching Prospect Mick Abel Can Be Minnesota Twins' Next Joe Ryan? - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Twins see parallels between a past trade deadline success story and one of their newest pitching prospects. 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