Juan Soto, Mets expose what Phillies may need to fix in Mick Abel’s game

Juan Soto and the New York Mets wasted no time exposing Mick Abel’s vulnerabilities, launching three straight home runs off the Philadelpia Phillies rookie in the third inning. Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Soto each went deep, marking the first time the Mets have hit back-to-back-to-back homers since 2022.

Abel has shown flashes of potential, but the underlying numbers suggest regression was coming. He’s struggled to put away left-handed hitters, relying too heavily on his fastball and curve, with a changeup that still needs refinement. His 95.5% left-on-base rate and .250 BABIP have masked the hard contact and below-average swing-and-miss metrics.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson acknowledged Abel after the game against Mets “just didn’t execute pitches,” and the data backs that up. Outings like this one could test Abel’s long-term role in the rotation. For now, it’s clear the Phillies have work to do refining his approach against elite batters like Soto.

What did Abel say about his rough outing?

Nothing too revealing — Mick Abel kept it simple, telling Tim Kelly of On Pattison that he plans to review what went wrong against the Mets, take the outing for what it was, and use it as a learning experience to prevent it from happening again. He also mentioned he’ll be breaking down his pitches this week to make adjustments.

Before the game, Abel spoke with Ken Rosenthal and opened up about how last year’s struggles in the minors affected him mentally. “Abel said his lack of success last season kind of took a toll on him mentally. He described himself as an incomplete man who needed to become a more solid human being.”

Is Abel tipping his pitches?

One of the questions raised after Abel’s outing came from pitching analyst Rob Friedman, who posted a breakdown on X showing a possible tell in Abel’s delivery. In the video, Abel’s hand positioning appeared to move too much before throwing different pitches — potentially tipping off hitters.

“Nope. The glove is above his front shoulder on the fastball, approaching his chin. You can see that from the box. Along with various other things. The glove is the easiest, but the glove is connected to the hand, the wrist, the arm…so there are other aspects that could tip a hitter off,” Friedman explained when asked if a runner on second base would be needed to spot it.