You can never have too much of a good thing, according to a hypothesis that the Philadelphia Phillies are determined to test.
Baseball does not currently have a superior pitching staff. Although there is room for improvement in the bullpen, Philadelphia’s opening lineup is outstanding. Three of their five regular starters made it to the All-Star Game the previous season, and four of them have already been named All-Stars. The lone exception is Jesús Luzardo, who is on course to reach that level in 2025 and, if his present form continues, may even make it into the Cy Young debate.
All this excludes Taijuan Walker, who magically has a 2.54 ERA across his first six starts of the campaign. After a disastrous stint in 2024, Walker committed to a rigorous offseason program and figured his stuff out. Now, he transfers to the bullpen in what may, against all chances, be a change that favorably improves Philadelphia’s relief crew.
There are actually six excellent starters on the Phillies’ MLB roster at the moment. As he recovers from Tommy John surgery and prepares for big-league appearances, Andrew Painter, the team’s top pitching prospect and one of the Minor Leagues’ greatest arms, has additional challenges. Another reason that is now impeding Painter’s progress is the abrupt and dramatic rise of Mick Abel, another outstanding potential.
Mick Abel could temporarily derail Andrew Painter’s path to Phillies
Despite missing the whole 2024 season because of Tommy John surgery, Painter is still the top prospect in Philadelphia’s system. He only recently started his lengthy, steady ascent through the Phillies’ Minor League system as a result. At the moment, he works with Low-A Clearwater.
According to Dave Dombrowski, Painter will make his Major League Baseball debut in July. One of baseball’s best pitching prospects, Painter is the Phillies’ most intriguing ace-to-be since Cole Hamels. Fans instantly began to imagine the young righty making an early postseason run.
However, it’s difficult to imagine the Phillies benching any of their existing starters in favor of Painter, who is 22. Although he seems like a very intriguing injury replacement, Philadelphia resisted the opportunity to use a six-man rotation when Ranger Suárez returned. Will Rob Thomson and Painter really go to war?
And now there’s this thing with Mick Abel. Abel had a terrible season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, pitching 24 starts with a 6.46 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. Even though he is only 23 years old, there was serious doubt about where he would rank among the Phillies’ prospects.
In 2025, Abel has finally figured something out. He has made seven starts at the Triple-A level this season and is pitching lights out, recording a far more impressive 2.75 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Abel has a couple years of Triple-A baseball experience and is now throwing explosive stuff, while Painter is still at the bottom of Philadelphia’s pipeline to start his rehabilitation.
Dombrowski recently said he “wouldn’t hesitate” to bring Abel to the big leagues if the Phillies need a starter.
For the Phillies, who seem to have two young players with immediate MLB potential coming up through the minor leagues, this is fantastic news. Is this a good thing in excess? No, not at all. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are both becoming older, not younger, and we don’t know if Suárez will stay past this season. It is unquestionably a good thing if the Phillies have half as much faith in Abel as they have in Painter.
But for Painter personally, it makes it more difficult to make the MLB team and stay at such a young age, which was already a difficult task. Because of Painter’s injury history and relative lack of professional experience, the Phillies are motivated to take their time with him. If Abel keeps up his current level of performance, maybe it will only delay Painter’s debut until 2026.
