How Phillies' Mick Abel found himself, raised his game and made the ‘little wins' big

New York Times

23-05-2025

As Phillies pitcher Mick Abel worked through the worst days of the worst stretch of his professional career in 2024, everything felt so big.
He couldn't make the right adjustments each week because there simply were too many.
'I kind of put myself in a blender,' Abel said. 'Doing that for a full season helped me understand, 'OK, I need to whittle it down to the basics, just easy little things I can do every day to count as little wins that will eventually add up.''
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Little wins might be consistency with his routine, practicing each day in the offseason, setting realistic goals or taking care of his body via the training room, weight room or nutrition. These victories end up in his journal, where Abel tracks daily what he's doing well, what he could do better and how he can accomplish his goals.
It's part of a routine that's helped Abel reorient after a difficult 2024 in which he lost his command, fastball velocity and, above all, himself as he slogged to a 6.46 ERA and 3-12 record across 24 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. But in striking out nine and shutting out the Pittsburgh Pirates across six innings in his MLB debut Sunday, Abel looked confident and in control, resembling the pitcher the Phillies saw years ago when scouting him, a starter with stuff and poise out of Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore.
One could argue the path to Abel's dominant debut started when he emerged sharper this season, walking fewer batters (3.7 per nine innings in 2025 versus 6.5 per nine in 2024) and striking out seven, eight, nine in early outings.
It really started during an exit meeting.
Abel shared a season's worth of perspective with Lehigh Valley and Phillies development and pitching coaches after his dreadful 2024. He needed to be more athletic. He needed to let things unfold naturally rather than obsessing over his mechanics and windup. He needed to be stronger. Those at the meeting agreed.
The 23-year-old right-hander was paired with Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham in the offseason, regularly talking about his progress via Zoom and phone calls. Cotham wanted to be there as he hit the reset button, and to pose a challenge: Abel was no longer a prospect. It was time to become a big leaguer.
'So, like, what does that mean?' Cotham said. 'There's a higher bar. There's a bigger price you have to pay. Then you balance that out. What are the things that you're going to stand your ground so hard that you might piss me off on? Because if you're doing it your way and you're assertive, sometimes I want you to say, 'No.' That fire, it kind of leaks into things. Sometimes you just need to get irritated. Do it your way. So, that was a lot of it.'
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It was contrary to how Abel, after being drafted 15th overall in 2020, approached his first few professional seasons, calling himself 'a little too much of a sponge.' He took comments about mechanical adjustments too seriously and literally. He would try to manufacture certain looks or feels.
When Abel arrived in Philadelphia last Saturday, manager Rob Thomson told him, 'Come in here. It's just one start. Just go out there and be yourself, and have fun. Enjoy the moment.'
It's cliche. But being himself is what earned Abel that spot start in the first place. He stopped overthinking on the mound and started embracing the moment. He simplified how he viewed the job.
'I'm a pitcher,' he said. 'I throw the ball. I try to get hitters out. I'm still going to throw hard. I'm still going to have really good stuff. That's just who I am, but it's just naturally letting it happen.'
It was a perspective years in the making.
Cotham posed a question to Abel during the winter: What's your attack plan for righties versus lefties? Twenty seconds. Go.
Abel couldn't answer it initially because he would get so specific about what he wanted to accomplish. But Cotham helped him narrow it down, just as he helped Abel pare down everything he was thinking on the mound.
'He's actually thinking more but having less thoughts,' Cotham said. 'It's a more esoteric way of saying, simplifying the noise in your head, like, really batten down the hatches on what you allow in and what you don't. He's not allowing in a whole lot. He's decided he's the loudest guy in the room.'
Abel also utilized the Phillies' mental health resources, in addition to his work with mental performance coach Brian Cain. He has worked with Cain for two years and always felt there was a connection between what they spoke about and baseball. But he zeroed in on what it was during the offseason: finding those little wins. Redefining his version of success. Simplifying how he viewed everything.
During the offseason, Casey Weathers, now the Phillies' director of pitching development, interviewed for his job with the club. Abel came up in the conversation. What went wrong? What do you think he needs? How should we intervene?
Weathers honed in on getting Abel moving freely, confident in his stuff and optimizing his arsenal. No grand plan, Weathers said — 'he wasn't super far off.'
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They met for the first time at January camp in Clearwater, Fla. They spoke regularly at camp, Weathers telling Abel, 'Go out and be you, and you'll do good.' The coach quickly gained a better understanding of Abel: He was a fluid athlete who threw polished bullpens, on top of being thoughtful and intentional.
Those bullpens have been one key to making Abel feel like Abel. During spring training, Cotham asked younger pitchers to talk through their bullpens — saying whatever came to mind, what pitch they were going to throw and where it was going. Cotham then could provide better feedback because he knew exactly what Abel was thinking.
As the offseason progressed, Abel felt the dots connecting as he threw more bullpens and long tossing. It happened naturally. There was not one lightbulb moment, but a bunch of little ones. He was getting better.
Now in Triple A, veteran catcher Garrett Stubbs tries to drive that feeling home during their bullpen sessions. He wants Abel to feel confident, reminding him of how good his stuff is and his ability to drive it through the zone during bullpens.
Because, no doubt, Abel thrives in the zone. Sixty-two of his 84 pitches in his debut were strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 22 batters he faced. Abel's fastball reached 99 mph on his first batter and 97.7 mph on the second before the adrenaline subsided and he settled in. He averaged 97.3 mph on the fastball and 96.2 on his sinker on the day, drawing a combined nine whiffs on the pitches — plus eight on his curveball.
Abel didn't quite envision a debut like that when he redefined his version of success during the offseason. Executing pitches is how he measures himself now. Not numbers. Just execution. By those terms, he had a pretty excellent debut — something he'll hold onto for the rest of his life, he said.
He wants to make it back to Philadelphia. The Phillies want him to continue to start, so starting in Allentown, Pa., it is. Abel, who has a 2.53 ERA in eight minor-league starts this season, will next pitch against Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. In the meantime, he's focusing on consistency in his routine: the weight room, the training room, water bags on the mound, making sure his tempo is in the right spot, staying loose.
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Tying a 78-year-old franchise record for debut strikeouts was pretty sweet. So was hugging family on the field postgame and sending them back to Oregon with a win. And the tough but loving reception in the IronPigs clubhouse after making it to the big leagues and doing that. But what might even be sweeter for Abel?
'I feel like Mick,' Abel said. 'It's funny to say. But I feel like myself, and it's a really good feeling.'
— The Athletic's Matt Gelb contributed to this report.