Not enough can be said about Mick Abel’s resurrection this season. The former first round pick entered 2025 as an afterthought on the verge of losing real prospect consideration, looking as though he would be one of the many former top picks to stall out in Triple-A. But Abel has completely revitalized his career, to the point where he earned a promotion to the Majors where he shined in his MLB debut.
That start has parlayed into Abel being given a spot in the Phillies rotation, at least for now. The team saw enough from that one start and Abel’s success at Lehigh Valley this year to officially move Taijuan Walker to the bullpen permanently and allow Abel to fill the spot in the rotation vacated by the injured Aaron Nola.