Mick

Abel

Abel has allowed five hits, walked none and struck out 13 in 10 innings to date. If he keeps this up, it’s going to be tough to deny him a spot in Minnesota’s rotation. That might be bad news for Zebby Matthews, even though Matthews, who allowed one run over four innings in an unofficial game against Puerto Rico earlier this week, has outperformed both Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods Richardson this spring.

It certainly helped Abel that he faced just one likely major leaguer today, that being utilityman Jorge Mateo. Still, that’s a really nice showing regardless. He averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball, up one mph from his MLB outings last year. His slider was up even a tad more and hitters missed each of the three times they swung at it. With David Festa out of the mix for now, it’s probably between Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews and Abel for two spots in Minnesota’s rotation, with Connor Prielipp also in the mix as more of a long shot.

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.