The Phillies have signed their first-round pick, right-hander Mick Abel, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. As the 15th overall pick, Abel’s selection came with a recommended slot value of $3,885,800, but he’ll earn $4,075,000, according to Callis.
Abel played high school baseball in his native Oregon and committed to Oregon State before the Phillies signed him. While the coronavirus led to the cancellation of what would have been his final high school season, Abel was nonetheless the top prep pitcher available in this year’s draft, writes Callis. The 6-foot-5 hurler offers a “terrific” combination of stuff and polish, per Callis, as well as a 93 to 98 mph fastball and a promising slider-changeup combo.
With Abel under wraps, the Phillies have now signed four members of their five-player draft class. Third-round shortstop Casey Martin hasn’t officially signed, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia notes, though the two sides did reportedly reach an agreement earlier this month.
Brixton
They shoulda given teams the ability to go over the 20K bonus for UDFA, but have it count against their bonus pool like the typical draft after the 10th round
DarkSide830
good point
houkenflouken
That would’ve been pretty nice
DarkSide830
nice. not too far over slot.
bucketbrew35
Kid seems like he could be really good. He seems like he has a much better mental makeup then Kyle Drabek when he was drafted out of HS.
pinkerton
Good. Now go sign his brother Cain
Captain Dunsel
But what kind of mark would he leave on the team?
PhilliePhan
Is he a lefty? We have all righties in the rotation right now.
Captain Dunsel
If he becomes an accomplished pitcher, the Phillies will finally have someone (besides Nola) you can know from Adam.
DarkSide830
all the more reason we need to start Ranger over VV
Domino427
Really irrelevant…he’s probably 3 years away at least. Who knows what the rotation will look like then.
nentwigs
Coached by Matt Cain ??
Phiilies2020
Really excited about the kid’s potential. I dont think he’s going to be Roy Halladay or Verlander; but a Wainwright or Stephen Strasburg, sure.
cookmeister 2
He’s 18. Let’s pump the breaks a little and give it a few years
Phiilies2020
A couple of weeks before the draft I started researching the top prospects. Abel caught my attention more than any other pitcher but i thought there was no way the Phils would get him at 15. He’s not only the best prep pitcher from this class, he’s the best overall pitcher in my opinion. He’s polished beyond his years and he has an impressive arsenal. I could be wrong but let’s hope I’m right.
pc01
Haha, wow. I hope the best for him, I really do, but let’s not make his floor World Series MVP right out of the gate.
looiebelongsinthehall
Anyone else not initially realize the cap was for the Phillies? At first I didn’t notice the Liberty Bell and thought the artwork was for Texas or Toronto due to the top portion looking like (to me) the upper cross of a “T”.
DarkSide830
i think its the new logo. not too much a fan to be honest.
rb15
Spring training hat, I believe.
gibbs58
“the Phillies have now signed four members of their five-player draft class.”
I thought they only drafted four.