2020 MLB draft: Phillies select ‘tantalizing’ Oregon high school pitcher Mick Abel in first round
The Phillies landed one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s draft when they selected right-handed pitcher Mick Abel with the 15th pick on Wednesday night.
Abel, 18, comes out of Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. He is 6-5 and 198 pounds with room to get stronger.
Baseball America says Abel possesses “a tantalizing combination of present stuff, future projection and pitchability.” Abel’s fastball has been up to 97 mph, with room to grow, and his slider and curveball are both considered plus pitches.
There is always risk in taking high school pitchers and there’s more than ever this year. Abel dazzled on the showcase circuit last summer but did not throw a competitive pitch this spring because of the COVID shutdown.
Though he is committed to Oregon State, Abel is expected to sign.
“I comped him to Justin Verlander, so that tells you how much I liked him,” former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd said on MLB Network.
“It’s a plus fastball, he commands it, a wipeout slider and, for me, I don’t see max effort at all in the delivery. He does it easy. Developing changeup and he’s got two plus pitches right now with plus command of them. This guy, for me, is the best-looking high school pitcher in this draft.”
Abel is the first pitcher taken by the Phillies in the first round since Aaron Nola in 2014. The club had not taken a high school pitcher as a straight first-rounder (non-supplemental round) since 2010 when it selected Jesse Biddle out of Germantown Friends with the 27th overall pick.
The slot value of this pick, 15th overall, is $3.88 million.
The Phillies’ next pick is 87th overall in the third round Thursday. The draft resumes Thursday at 5 p.m. with the second round, but the Phils forfeited their second-round selection when they signed Zack Wheeler.
Their remaining picks Thursday are 87th, 116th and 146th.
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