Nobody knew what to expect in Mick Abel's debut. Not Abel, not his manager, Rob Thomson, and apparently not the hitters making up the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup on Sunday afternoon.
Abel, whose remarkable year-to-year turnaround resulted in a call-up for a spot start in a matchup against superstar Paul Skenes, dealt in front of a crowd of 44,356 fans. It only took him 84 pitches — 62 of them being strikes —= to throw six scoreless innings, only allowing five hits while striking out nine batters and not issuing any free passes.
"For him to come up here in this atmosphere, [throw] 74 percent strikes… landing his breaking ball, get a lot of swing and miss, just very, very impressive," Thomson said after the game. "Very impressive. Poise level was really, really good."
While the Phillies drafted Abel in the first round years ago in hopes he could one day perform like this at Citizens Bank Park, there have been major bumps along the way — including a nightmarish campaign in Triple-A which caused his stock to plummet. But he found his confidence again headed into an important season and submitted eight strong starts for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs to earn the opportunity to make a cameo.
"He's really grown up," Thomson said. "I think he slowed everything down today, stayed in the moment. That's part of experience and growing up and things like that. And he's done that, so it's really good to see. I'm really happy for him."
There was no easing into the game for Abel. With all sorts of nerves and adrenaline flowing — and Skenes on the other side — he had to be sharp from the outset. That he was, notching his velocity up two or three ticks on every pitch in his repertoire. Abel already had very good stuff; the atmosphere propelled him to another level. While Abel's four-seam fastball generally sits between 95 and 96 miles per hour, it was more like 97 to 98 on Sunday. His first two pitches were between 98 and 99, setting up a nasty curveball to notch his first major-league strikeout:
Welcome to the bigs, Mick Abel!
He strikes out the first batter he faces in his Major League debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/sw7p9TZ4RF— MLB (@MLB) May 18, 2025
"I felt like I wasn't really trying to do too much," Abel said. "I think the adrenaline definitely was pumping up the [velocity] a little bit more. But really, I was just trying to go out there and have fun and just enjoy the moment, try to get guys out."
With a lot of new people to recognize and names to learn, pitching in a ballpark he had never pitched in before, Abel did have one familiar face in the foxhole with him: Rafael Marchán, the Phillies' backup catcher who started in place of J.T. Realmuto on Sunday. Marchán has extensive experience catching Abel in the minor leagues and was thrilled to be part of such a momentous milestone in the young right-hander's career.
"[It means] a lot," Marchán said. "…This is a dream for every guy, you know? He's a good pitcher… I was very proud."
Abel's astounding debut performance was the exact jolt of optimism the Phillies found themselves desperate for on Sunday. Just two hours before Abel took the mound, Thomson called a team meeting to inform his players that their best relief pitcher, left-hander José Alvarado, has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance. Alvarado will not be eligible to return until the middle of August and he will not play in the postseason.
But Abel led the Phillies past Skenes with a 1-0 win. Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Jordan Romano — the three bullpen arms Thomson will need the most to pick up the slack with Alvarado absent — all threw scoreless innings to put the game away.
"After sad news this morning, it feels really good and gratifying to get through that game and see what Mick did and see what the bullpen did," Thomson said.
After calling Abel's performance "the best debut I've ever seen," Romano admitted that he felt additional pressure trying to ensure he could secure the 23-year-old's first major league win.
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"I was actually thinking about that," Romano said. "…A little added pressure, but just happy we won the game and he got to really enjoy the moment."
The expectation remains that Abel will be optioned to Triple-A — the Phillies said he would be after his start no matter what the results were — but he made an impression so strong that it will be remembered by not just the 44,356 people in attendance, but the 25 players he shared a clubhouse with for the weekend.
"Super excited for him, happy for him," Bryce Harper said. "It's a great moment. Family, friends, everybody's here for him. He goes out there and does his job against another really good pitcher."
Abel used his arsenal, adrenaline and accuracy to mow down Pirates hitters for six innings. Even if he was not exactly facing the 1927 Yankees, Abel pitched with the sort of stuff that can be effective against any lineup. Thomson was satisfied pulling the plug when he did, even though Abel could have taken down another inning if needed.
Abel expressed gratitude for the opportunity and the clubhouse. Of course, he also said he is hoping to be back on the Citizens Bank Park mound very soon.
"I've got nothing but respect for all of these guys," Abel said. "These guys are awesome. It's fun to go out there and fight for a winning ball club like this… I want nothing more than to be back here."
Based on Thomson's postgame remarks, there is good news for Abel.
"He'll be back. He keeps throwing the ball like that, I guarantee he's going to be back."
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