Mick Abel strikes out five in scoreless Triple-A rehab start

Mick Abel’s first Triple-A rehab outing looked less like a tuneup and more like a checkpoint on the road back to the Minnesota Twins. The right-hander held Triple-A Toledo scoreless over three innings, struck out five and threw 47 pitches, giving the club its clearest sign yet that he is nearing a return after sitting out since mid-April with right elbow inflammation.

That matters because the Twins have not only been waiting on a healthy arm, they have been waiting on one with real rotation upside. Jeremy Zoll said Abel was due for a bullpen session Saturday, June 13, and that he would likely need at least one more rehab start next week before the club starts narrowing in on an activation window. MLB.com has pointed to a mid-to-late June return target if Abel keeps responding well, and this outing fit the kind of progression Minnesota wanted to see.

The performance itself was notable beyond the clean line. Abel had been working back from a stretch that also included triceps issues, and he had previously touched 97 mph in a live batting practice session before the rehab assignment. Against Toledo, he showed the combination the Twins have been targeting: swing-and-miss stuff, enough efficiency to get through three innings, and no visible setback in his first game action since the injury.

That is especially relevant given how sharp Abel had been before he got hurt. After a rough first two starts, he ripped off 13 consecutive scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts and three walks over his next two outings. In other words, the rehab start was not simply about proving he could take the mound again. It was about showing that the version of Abel Minnesota had started to trust before the injury is still intact.

The matchup added another layer, with Justin Verlander starting for Toledo in a Triple-A setting that carried major-league weight. Abel’s side of the story was the one the Twins cared about most: a healthy arm, a clean first step, and a path that now runs through a bullpen session, another rehab start and then a possible return to a rotation that could use his power arm in a hurry.