With his first pick as Phillies director of amateur scouting, Brian Barber took right-hander Mick Abel out of Jesuit High School just outside of Portland, Oregon. The then 18-year-old was considered the best high school pitcher in the entire draft. The Phillies Zoom draft room loved him.
“Our scouts were in unanimous agreement, he’s a potential future workhorse and dominating presence at the top of a rotation,” Barber told the Philadelphia media, including Jim Salisbury, at his 2020 post-draft press conference. “As a person and a player, we’re 100 percent sold on him.