Phillies' Mick Abel has shown flashes of greatness but is an unfinished product

New York Times

6 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA — It took Juan Soto 30 seconds to round the bases, every tick excruciating for Mick Abel. The rookie righty retrieved a new ball before Soto was halfway to second base. He fiddled with the rosin bag while Soto shuffled to third. Soto had not yet stepped on home plate before Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham emerged from the dugout to meet Abel on the mound.
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Francisco Lindor had bashed a 3-2 fastball at the knees. Brandon Nimmo had smashed a 2-2 curveball down and in. Then, Soto demolished a full-count fastball above the strike zone. Three batters, three homers. Abel needed to be consoled.
'I kind of have to take it as it is,' Abel said after an 11-4 Phillies loss to the New York Mets. 'Just be honest with myself. I wasn't locating my fastball.'
These are the hard lessons for a 23-year-old pitcher, suffered in a rivalry game on national television. The Phillies and Mets have traded blowouts this weekend. They are tied for first place; one team will leave here with a one-game lead after Sunday night's contest.
And Abel will have five days to think about his next start at the Atlanta Braves.
It all begins with the fastball. It sat at 97 mph against the Mets. But Mets hitters whiffed at only four of the 43 fastballs Abel threw. They fouled off 12. Abel handled the four through nine hitters in New York's lineup; they went 1-for-9 with a single. But Lindor, Nimmo and Soto are productive big-league hitters.
Abel's mistakes were punished.
'They've all got really good approaches,' Abel said. 'I think they can all hit the heater whenever they want. I have to pitch off my fastball, so pretty tough.'
That, then, is how Abel has surrendered seven homers in two starts to two of the National League's potent lineups (the Mets and Chicago Cubs) and zero home runs in his three other outings. He wants to pitch at the top of the zone. He must do that to be successful here.
The Phillies are asking Abel to keep them in games every fifth day. They have seen flashes of greatness from him, but they know he is an unfinished product. He has already contributed more than they might have anticipated in spring training. Phillies officials were excited to see how Abel would react on this stage. It was June 21, a game with the same meaning as April 21, but a certain juice comes with a packed ballpark on a Saturday night.
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By the time the third inning ended, Phillies manager Rob Thomson explained to Abel why he was removing him. Abel needed 32 pitches to survive the third inning.
'I thought his poise was pretty good when I talked to him,' Thomson said. 'That's a lot for a young guy. And we have to protect him.'
The Phillies allowed seven homers in a game for only the 11th time in franchise history. Abel was only the fifth pitcher in Phillies history to allow four homers in three innings or fewer. The others: Jerad Eickhoff (2019), Brian Sanches (2007), Vicente Padilla (2005) and Robert Person (1999).
Abel has somehow yet to surrender a home run with a runner on base, which has saved his ERA. (It's 3.47 in 23 1/3 innings.) He's walking a fine line. The Phillies were impressed with his composure during his first four big-league starts, but it was hard not to see long drive after long drive affect Abel in Saturday's game.
Before Cotham reached the mound in the third inning, Realmuto put his hand on Abel's chest. Before the game, Thomson said Abel proved something last month when he dueled the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes. But Abel had the luxury of pitching to the flaccid Pirates lineup that afternoon.
Even before the Mets mashed Abel's mistake pitches, the club knew he had to improve his location at the top of the zone.
'He's really good at tunneling the curveball off that riding fastball,' Thomson said before Saturday's game. 'So sometimes you have to change eye level, that's for sure.'
It's something Abel said he'll have to fix in his bullpen session this week.
He has a rotation spot for the foreseeable future. Andrew Painter, who also pitched Saturday but at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, went five innings and showed erratic command with four walks. He would be an option for the Phillies if they suffer a rotation injury, but absent that, Painter will continue to pitch in the minors.
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Aaron Nola is out until at least after the All-Star break; the earliest he can be activated is July 18. Nola, who has a stress fracture in his right ribs, played a light catch indoors that was monitored by the medical staff. He could progress to playing catch outside next week. It'll be a slow process, but Nola throwing now is better than not at all.
Abel fired 25 pitches in a harrowing first inning. It showed the promise and the current constraints. He prevented the damage from being worse by stranding two in scoring position. But he threw far too many hittable fastballs. Nimmo crushed a belt-high one.
Abel said he wasn't deterred afterward.
'Just keep attacking hitters,' he said. 'I mean, first-pitch strikes are a big deal to me.'
This is a lot for a 23-year-old rookie on a team with championship aspirations.
'He's just got to get back,' Thomson said, 'to doing what he does.'
(Photo of Mick Abel as Juan Soto rounds the bases: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)