It had been six years since the Phillies used their top pick on a pitcher when they made Mick Abel the first high school arm off the board, 15th overall, in the 2020 draft.
There was Aaron Nola in 2014, Abel in 2020 and then Andrew Painter a year later.
Nola was viewed coming out of LSU as a fast riser with well-above-average command and he lived up to the billing, speeding through the Phillies' minor-league system and debuting 13 months after his draft date.
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SIGN UP HERE Painter was viewed as a potential phenom, a massive right-hander with a classic pitcher's frame, upper-90s velocity and impressive secondary stuff. After only one full season in the minors, he was the perceived front-runner for the No. 5 spot in the Phillies' rotation in spring training 2023 before suffering an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Painter has been working his way back since and should be up with the Phils shortly after the All-Star break.
Abel's path to The Show hasn't been nearly as straightforward. There were years of control problems. There were questions about confidence and overthinking. There were never questions about the quality of his stuff, and he's shown why in two major-league starts.
After beating the Pirates with six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts on May 18, Abel pitched nearly as well Wednesday night in Toronto, returning to the Phillies' rotation with 5⅓ innings of one-run ball.
The lone run came in the bottom of the sixth when Abel allowed a one-out single to Andres Gimenez and an RBI triple to Bo Bichette, whose deep fly ball narrowly eluded a diving Brandon Marsh in center field.
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It was another walk-free outing. Abel has made two major-league starts and hasn't walked anyone. Only two of his last 53 minor-league outings were walk-free. Control is the biggest key for him and it's been a primary factor in his early success. Abel has thrown a first-pitch strike to 29 of the 41 batters he's faced (71%).
"I think it's kind've clicked for him," manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Toronto. "He's been around now for a few years and learned a lot. He's confident in his stuff. He understands now to attack hitters and trust his stuff. That goes a long way.
"He was fantastic. Strike-to-ball ratio, curveball was really good. Poise was outstanding."
The Phillies really seem to have something here with Abel. Even with side tightness delaying Nola's live BP session this week, the Phils' rotation is an embarrassment of riches — Zack Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Nola, Abel, Painter soon. Suarez is a free agent after the season and even if he walks, it will be difficult to fit everyone into one rotation, which could make Abel all the more important this July.
Thomson lifted Abel with one out in the sixth to let Orion Kerkering face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Kerkering worked out of the jam and the game remained tied until Alejandro Kirk's walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.
The loss went to Jordan Romano in his first appearance back at Rogers Centre. The win went to Jeff Hoffman in his first appearance against the Phillies since departing in free agency.
Hoffman faced only two batters, allowing a two-out single to Alec Bohm before ending the top of the ninth with a Nick Castellanos groundout. Romano had Guerrero on second with two outs and was ahead 0-2 on Kirk, who ended a seven-pitch at-bat with a deep drive to center that fell in for the winning run.
The Phillies are 37-24 heading into Thursday afternoon's rubber match between Luzardo (5-1, 3.58) and Chris Bassitt (5-3, 3.80). J.T. Realmuto exited in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday after taking a foul ball to the nether regions. He was in considerable pain and had trouble walking off the field with a trainer. With a 3:07 p.m. game Thursday he might not have played anyway, but it's looking more like a Rafael Marchan day.
"He said he's had worse," Thomson said, "but we'll check him out tomorrow."