Mick Abel

Vying to be the first prep pitcher from Oregon drafted in the first round since 1994—when the Royals drafted lefthander and first baseman Matt Smith—Abel has a tantalizing combination of present stuff, future projection and pitchability. A 6-foot-5, 180-pound righthander, Abel touched 97 mph last summer and sits in the 90-94 mph range. Aside from a fastball that’s a potentially plus offering, Abel has two quality secondaries. The first is a slider that plays firm in the 82-86 mph range and was voted by scouting directors as the best breaking ball in the prep class. He throws the pitch consistently with hard, biting action and is capable of landing it in the zone for strikes or using it as a chase pitch. Abel also throws a changeup in the 81-85 mph range that has good tumble and fading life and consistently shows above-average quality. On paper, Abel checks plenty of boxes: He has a terrific pitcher’s frame, excellent athleticism, three above-average or better pitches and arguably the best command in the class. But because of the shortened 2020 season, Abel will be one of the most difficult prep players to assess. While teams should have lots of history with him thanks to his notoriety as an underclassman—which included striking out 2019 No. 5 overall pick Riley Greene—teams have little to nothing from this spring on the Oregon State commit. His high school team didn’t play a single game, and the lack of recent information could give teams pause. If Abel had simply played this spring and been the same pitcher he was last summer, he would go somewhere in the middle of the first round. He could still go there, but the abbreviated season affects him more than most and leaves his status more questionable despite top-of-the-rotation upside.