Philadelphia Phillies Urged To Move On From Top Prospect

The Philadelphia Phillies could benefit from trading away one of their top prospects.

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of MLB's best pitching rotations, but that could also lead to young players having a hard time working their way up to the major league roster.

Such is the case for pitching prospect Mick Abel. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand named Abel one the players that would most 'benefit from a change of scenery.'

A trade could make sense for both sides as the 22-year-old is reaching his peak as a trade chip but also far away from cracking the Philadelphia rotation. Now would be the time to move on if they plan to.

The 6-foot-5 pitcher has struggling this season in the minors, looking less effective than he ever has before. In 45.2 innings of work, his ERA is up to 6.31 with a 1.84 WHIP. That's almost 2.00 higher than he has ever finished a season in ERA and 0.5 higher in WHIP. He's striking out almost three less batters per nine innings and giving up over two more hits.

He's still the Phillies No. 3 overall prospect and No. 60 overall, but it's clear that he's not making his way to Philadelphia any time soon. He's also not even the best pitcher in their pipeline, with Andrew Painter still taking their No. 1 spot despite not pitching since March of 2023.

There will be a team that values Abel very highly, though, as he does still have plenty of potential as a pitcher. A rebuilding team that is looking to sell would be a perfect partner for the Phillies to find. Abel is also still good enough of a prospect to be the cornerstone of a major trade.

Philadelphia's biggest positon of need as of now is another outfield bat. The Phillies outfield currently ranks 23rd in MLB in terms of collective WAR. Their defensive also hasn't been good enough to sit through the below average offense.

Johan Rojas is young and slashing .360/.360/.360 over the last two weeks, but it's hard to feel comfortable with him holding down center field on a World Series team given his inconsistency. His defense is really good, but when the hits aren't landing his at-bats stand out.

Nick Castellanos is a fan-favorite, but it may be time to move him into a bench role or try to trade him away. His .215/.275/.360 slashing line has been consistently poor all season. They won't be able to get away with his at-bats looking like this in the playoffs.

Moving Abel to improve one of these slots in the lineup makes the most sense.