Phils, first-round pick Abel complete deal
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PHILADELPHIA -- Mick Abel signed with the Phillies on Wednesday. He capped the occasion with a tour of Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies selected Abel with the 15th overall pick in the 2020 Draft. He signed for $4.075 million, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, a little more than the slot value of $3,885,800. Abel was regarded as the best high school pitcher in the Draft. The 6-foot-5 right-hander has an electric fastball and slider, plus a promising changeup and curveball.
Abel has drawn comparisons to everybody from Stephen Strasburg to Mike Soroka to Jack Flaherty to Rick Porcello to Justin Verlander. That group has three Cy Young Awards, 12 All-Star appearances and three World Series championship rings on their collective resume.
Abel attended Jesuit High School in Oregon. He is a two-time Gatorade Oregon Baseball Player of the Year. His senior season was canceled, but he went 10-0 with a 1.26 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings as a junior. Abel went 18-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 150 2/3 innings in his high school career.
Abel won a silver medal as a member of Team USA in the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup.
“I know Mick has tremendous potential and tremendous upside and our scouts were just in unanimous agreement with that,” Phillies amateur scouting director Brian Barber said earlier this month. “He has the potential to be a future workhorse and just a dominating factor and presence and a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.”
The Phillies have not signed third-round pick Casey Martin, who is a shortstop from Arkansas. They previously signed right-hander Carson Ragsdale from South Florida (fourth round) and outfielder Baron Radcliff from Georgia Tech (fifth round). The team also signed 10 undrafted free agents: right-handers Chase Antle (Coastal Carolina University), Blake Brown (UNC Asheville), Buddy Hayward (Harvard University), Jonathan Hughes (Georgia Tech), Sam Jacobsak (Northeastern University), Noah Skirrow (Liberty University) and Billy Sullivan (University of Delaware); and left-handers Jordan Fowler (University of Central Missouri), Jake McKenna (Ocean City High School - N.J.) and JP Woodward (Lafayette College).