MLB Draft profile: Mick Abel, Oregon high school RHP

I’m playing catch-up with some mock drafts, since we are now less than two weeks away from the 2020 MLB Draft.

The Angels pick 10th overall in the first round, matching their highest selection in the last 23 years. They also picked 10th in 2000, taking high school left-hander Joe Torres, and in 2018, when they drafted outfielder Jo Adell, the club’s current top prospect and a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball.

Brian Sakowski and Vincent Servino at Perfect Game in their second mock draft early in May had the Angels taking Mick Abel in the first round, a right-handed pitcher out of Jesuit High School in Oregon:

The top prep righthander in the class goes to the Angels as the Halos are getting a lean, projectable pitching prospect with a hellacious slider. There’s clear upside with Abel, something the Angels aren’t known to shy away from, and the Oregon-native will be followed closely for years to come.

The Oregon State commit had a 1.26 ERA as a senior, and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon in each of the last two seasons.

Abel was rated as the ninth-best prospect in the draft by FanGraphs, and ranked 11th by both Baseball America and MLB.com. His MLB.com profile notes, “The 6-foot-5 right-hander shows flashes of three plus pitches, starting with a fastball that was regularly in the 93-95 mph range this summer, though he tired a bit near the end of his run.”

Abel was ranked 17th by Keith Law at The Athletic, who wrote, “He’s got a plus fastball and breaking ball that flashes plus as well, with a great, projectable pitcher’s frame.”

In their first mock draft, Perfect Game had the Angels taking Tennessee high school outfielder Robert Hassell, who has been linked to the Halos in at least five other mock drafts. We profiled Hassell here.

The recommended slot bonus for the 10th overall pick is $4,739,900.