Prospect Twins stole in Jhoan Duran trade is taking an absurd spring training leap

Twins righty Mick Abel off to strong start this spring

Mick Abel, whom the Twins acquired along with catching prospect Eduardo Tait from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for star closer Jhoan Duran at last summer's trade deadline, has looked dominant on the mound this spring. In 10 scoreless innings across three starts during 2026 Grapefruit League action, the 24-year-old righty has allowed just five hits and zero walks while collecting 13 strikeouts.

Seven of Abel's 13 strikeouts this spring have come on his four-seamer, which has reached above 98 mph. He's also struck out two batters on his changeup, two on his slider, one on his curveball and one on his sweeper.

After joining the Twins last season, Abel performed well in five starts with the St. Paul Saints (1.85 ERA over 24 1/3 innings). Unfortunately, the righty struggled significantly at the big-league level, surrendering 13 earned runs on 18 hits and seven walks in four outings (two starts) across 14 innings. However, he ended the season on a good note, hurling six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against his former team in Philadelphia on Sept. 27.

Mick Abel may edge out Zebby Matthews for Twins' final rotation spot

Despite his overall poor numbers in the big leagues, Abel has the pitch arsenal and control to be an MLB star. Losing Duran sucked for Twins fans, as the reliever is among the best closers in baseball. But if Abel reaches his potential, the Twins will be ecstatic about the trade. Not to mention, Tait, who likely will reach the big leagues in two to three seasons, was a higher-ranked prospect than Abel when they arrived to Minnesota.

Entering camp, Abel seemed like a long shot to make the Opening Day rotation. Even when the news broke that Pablo López would miss the 2026 season due to a UCL tear, most assumed that righty Zebby Mathews would round out the rotation led by Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson and Taj Bradley. But after Abel's strong start to spring training, the former Phillie may edge out Matthews for that fifth starter spot.

Matthews hasn't been bad this spring, but he hasn't been nearly as good as Abel. After allowing two hits and no walks in two scoreless innings against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Feb. 20, Matthews made his first Grapefruit League start on Feb. 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and surrendered one run on two hits and two walks, using 56 pitches in 2 1/3 innings. He's scheduled to make his next start at 12:05 p.m. CST today against the Atlanta Braves.

Matthews has added pressure this spring due to Abel's strong start to the Grapefruit League season. At the end of the day, injuries are inevitable, so the Abel-Matthews dilemma may solve itself.