Abel makes case for Twins rotation as Bello delivers six shutout innings for Sox
In a rare Fort Myers spring training night game on Thursday at JetBlue Park, Twins righty Mick Abel and Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello were locked in a pitcher’s duel after three innings. Neither had allowed a run, with Abel collecting four strikeouts on swings and Bello notching five strikeouts (four on swings).
The 24-year-old Abel had more to lose and more to gain than the established 26-year-old for Boston.
Abel was fighting for a starting rotation spot, one which he has all but secured this spring after starting out spring training with 10 scoreless innings. He entered the game with a 1.35 ERA and while his ERA snuck up to an even 2.00 after allowing two runs in the fourth inning on his Thursday, his final line of six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings while allowing three hits and two walks, seemed to be enough to put him in line for the final rotation spot. Sure enough, the next day the Twins announced they had optioned pitcher Zebby Matthews, opening up the rotation spot for Abel.
The Red Sox won the game 4-2 behind six scoreless innings pitched by Bello, but the focus after the game was whether Abel had now done enough to break with the Twins out of camp. With 23 strikeouts in 18 innings and a miniscule 0.83 WHIP, it would be hard for anyone to argue against him doing so.
“I thought he did very good,” Twins Manager Derek Shelton said after the game. “I thought he was very impressive and he has been very impressive all spring.”
Abel entered the fourth inning on cruise control. When he struck out Jarren Duran swinging on a curveball that dove down to the bottom black of the inside corner for the second out of the inning, Abel may have put the icing on his case for the rotation. A walk to Wilson Contreras for his first free pass of the night was followed by a single from the hot-hitting Caleb Durbin, and another walk was given to Marcelo Mayer. Ceddanne Rafaela then engaged Abel in a 10-pitch at-bat as he fouled off four fastballs and a slider. With the bases loaded and two outs, and a 3-2 count, Rafaela lined a slider over the plate to left field to score two runs and temporarily knocked Abel out of the game.
Except that wasn’t the end of Abel’s day. In the new world of spring training baseball where a manager can take out a pitcher and bring him back out any time in the game, Abel was sent back to the mound in the fifth inning like an employee who was fired but who comes back to work the next day. Abel showed Shelton he made a good decision as he sent the Red Sox batters down in order. He was able to get Nate Eaton to pop out in shallow foul territory and then notched his sixth strikeout when Masataka Yoshida was caught looking at a changeup that skimmed the bottom of the strike zone. Trevor Story grounded out to end the inning. Stretching Abel out to 79 pitches appeared to be a good indicator that he will get to break camp with the Twins and head up to Minnesota.
Abel said Shelton told him he would be returning to the mound when he was lifted after the Rafaela hit.
“I am thankful that they still let us do that this late in the spring,” Abel said.
“The Rafaela at-bat, he is a good Major League hitter and he extended him and fouled off some good pitches,” Shelton said. “He (Rafaela) laid off the curveball, he laid off the fastball and he got a flat slider. The thing is (Abel) didn’t give in to him. He ended up getting beat with a pitch that stayed up in the zone.” Shelton said the Red Sox lineup was one of the best in baseball at stretching out at-bats.
Abel is already learning from that exchange. “One of the things tonight is I was trying too hard to get the heater up, I would end up pulling it,” he said.
Shelton said he challenged Abel early in the season. “We came into spring training and I just challenged him. I said go out and do your thing and let us make the evaluation,” Shelton said. “I think he has put himself in a really good spot.”
The pure precision and cutting bite of Abel’s pitches leaves him as one of the most formidable pitchers currently residing in the Twins rotation.
On the other side of the rubber, Bello was proving why Red Sox fans have been excited about one of the top young prospects the organization has developed in the last decade. While the Twins made some good cuts against his pitches early, Bello was able to shake them off and so the type of polished stuff that Abel is on the verge of.
Bello took a short detour from spring training to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, but if anybody was wondering if it messed up his spring rhythm, it was clear on Thursday that it had not.
Bello, who earned his first win of the spring, struck out seven over six scoreless innings while limiting Twins batters to three hits and no walks. Aside from a few Twins batters who took Bello to the warning track, the righty made easy work of a Minnesota lineup who will need to score more runs this season to be competitive.
Speaking through an interpreter after Thursday’s game, Bello said he had a lot of confidence with his curveball, which was clocking in at 83 mph and which he he induced three swings and misses on. “It’s progressed a lot,” Bello said. “I feel like I am able to locate and command it whenever I want.”
Bello said he has tweaked his mechanics a little this spring. Bello likes to keep his right hand back as long as possible before unleashing it like a whip late in the delivery. “I try to keep my elbow up so that way the sinker has late movement and the changeup has late movement. That way I feel more comfortable and consistent throwing strikes,” he said.
In the second inning, Bello struck out all three batters he faced, getting swings and misses on his fastball and changeup for two of his strikeouts and a called third strike on a fastball up in the zone. In the third inning, he racked up two strikeouts on swings and misses on his curveball and changeup. His last two strikeouts were on swings and misses on his sinker. Bello also deployed a cutter during the game, which hovered between 85-87 mph, a tick below his 88mph, while his fastball was clocked between 93 and 95 mph.
Abel struck out Red Sox batters on all four of his offerings: two on his curveball, two on his slider, and one each on his changeup and fastball. Four of Abel’s strikeouts were on whiffs by the batters.
The right-hander appears ready to make the Phillies organization pay dearly for trading him to the Twins for reliever Jhoan Duran. Though as humble as Gary Cooper, Abel has shown he may have the ceiling of two of the pitchers he looks up to the most: Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
Abel said he has changed his delivery since last season. He is being more patient on his leg lift and being more efficient in his movements. He credits a previous change in mechanics for the major improvement in his stats last year, along with other continued adjustments to his routine and the mental side of the game. Abel is also learning more about scouting his opponents.
Abel said he was proud of the development of his slider this spring
“I am really happy with where my tighter slider is at. I am throwing it hard,” Abel said. Abel sent down Caleb Durbin and Nate Eaton swinging out of the strike zone on his slider. The slider clocked in between 88 miles per hour and nearly 90 miles per hour. Abel spoke about tunneling his slider, with the pitch thrown at a speed and direction that can mimic his sinker. With his fastball ranging from 93 miles per hour to 97 miles per hour on the night, batters attempting to decipher between the two offerings could be in for a lot of headaches this season.
That arsenal has his manager excited about his future.
“All the things,” Shelton said. “Temperament, for a young player, he is very controlled. The thing that stands out is the stuff. The ability to execute four pitches is what stands out.”
Shelton said Abel’s changeup has improved. “The ability to execute multiple pitches,” Shelton said. “He showed really good poise.”