Mick

Abel

Abel allowed 14 runs — 13 earned — in 14 innings after joining the Twins in the Jhoan Duran trade last summer, so he has some work to do this spring. The team, though, couldn’t have asked for a better spring debut. Abel walked none and had a 39% CSW. He’s probably competing with Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, Connor Prielipp and Travis Adams for two spots in Minnesota’s rotation.

Abel scattered just three hits on the night — all of them singles — while issuing one base on balls. He generated 14 swings and misses on 73 pitches on the night — six of them on his fastball — while posting an elite CSW of 37 percent. The 24-year-old hurler finishes his 2025 season on a high note, though for the season he posted a miserable 6.23 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and a 39/16 K/BB ratio across 39 innings of work in 10 appearances (eight starts) between the Phillies and Twins. This outing could give him a leg up on a spot in the Twins’ Opening Day rotation in 2026.

With Pablo López (forearm) landing on the injured list, Abel will take his place on the Twins’ active roster. It sounds like he’ll be available out of the bullpen over the weekend and if he’s not used he could be an option to start in López’s place on Thursday against the Rangers in Arlington.

Abel, who was acquired from the Phillies in the Jhoan Duran trade, surrendered 11 earned runs over four innings in one start and one relief appearance in his first stint with the Twins. He might have to wait until 2026 for another shot.

The Twins were hoping to get through this game just using Taj Bradley and Abel, with maybe someone closing afterwards, but while Bradley did well over the first five, Abel gave up two runs in the sixth and then retired no one in the seventh. He allowed seven hits, all of them singles, and walked one. Abel also got roughed up in his Twins debut as a starter last week, so he could be a candidate for demotion.

The 24-year-old hurler walked two batters on the evening while striking out a pair. All of the damage done against him came in the second inning which was capped off by a grand slam off the bat of rookie sensation Colson Montgomery. Abel got six swings and misses on 63 pitches in the contest, registering a CSW of 22 percent. He’ll carry an uninspiring 6.43 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and a 23/11 K/BB ratio (28 innings) into Friday’s matchup against the Padres.

Abel draws an extremely favorable matchup on Saturday against the rebuilding White Sox for his first big-league outing since coming over from the Phillies at last month’s trade deadline. The 24-year-old pitching prospect offers enough strikeout upside to merit consideration in all fantasy formats, especially deeper mixed leagues. He figures to get an extended opportunity with Minnesota over the final five weeks of the season as they pivot to a long-term focus.

Zebby Matthews is starting Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field. Abel is coming off a dominant outing last Saturday at Triple-A St. Paul where he punched out 11 batters over six innings. The 23-year-old pitching prospect showed some potential earlier this season in a handful of starts with the Phillies before being included in last month’s Jhoan Duran blockbuster at the trade deadline. There’s some streaming appeal here for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues, even though it’s a tough matchup in a hitter-friendly environment.

It’s probably time for Minnesota to give Abel an extended look in the big leagues after he came over from the Phillies during last month’s trade deadline teardown. The 23-year-old prospect looked sharp in a handful of outings earlier this year with Philadelphia and could make an impact for fantasy purposes down the home stretch. He’s a worthwhile stash candidate, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

He also walked four and struck out five while throwing 47 of his 83 pitches for strikes. Abel seemed to break out a sweeper in this start that was three mph slower than his regular slider and with 10 inches more horizontal movement. He threw only seven of them, and one for a strike, so the Twins are clearly still tweaking some things with his pitch mix, but he posted a solid 23 percent whiff rate and 27 percent CSW on the day.