The Diamondbacks introduced Thursday that they’ve chosen the contract of left-hander Philip Abner from Triple-A Reno. Every time he makes his first look out of the bullpen, the 2023 sixth-rounder out of Florida might be making his MLB debut. Arizona optioned fellow lefty Kyle Backhus to Reno in an effort to clear an lively roster spot. Arizona’s 40-man roster is now at capability.
Abner, 23, has breezed by means of three minor league ranges this season. He opened the 12 months in Excessive-A and has since climbed to Double-A and Triple-A, posting sturdy numbers at every cease. The tip result’s a 3.07 earned run common in 58 2/3 innings of bullpen work. He’s strictly a reliever, together with his solely two skilled “begins” coming for Arizona’s Complicated League affiliate final summer season, with neither lasting greater than an inning. He began only one recreation in his NCAA profession with the Florida Gators.
Abner has fanned 29.8% of his opponents within the minors this season and restricted walks at a pointy 6.8% clip. His 40.1% ground-ball fee is barely a pair factors beneath league-average, and he’s achieved a fantastic job maintaining the ball within the yard, yielding a median of 0.77 homers per 9 frames throughout these three ranges. He doesn’t throw exhausting, sitting simply 90.7 mph on his four-seamer, however Abner has nonetheless recorded a hearty 13.7% swinging-strike fee throughout his three minor league stops in 2025. He enhances his heater with a slider that sits 80 mph.
Though he doesn’t rank among the many group’s top-30 prospects at any of Baseball America, MLB.com or FanGraphs, Abner turned in a powerful efficiency that’s tough to disregard. The Snakes didn’t want so as to add him to the 40-man roster, as he wouldn’t have been eligible for choice within the Rule 5 Draft till the 2026-27 offseason, however his sturdy numbers benefit an enormous league look and now have him within the combine for a possible bullpen spot subsequent 12 months. He’ll very doubtless head into 2026 on the 40-man roster and with a full slate of minor league choices, and D-backs brass can use the ultimate couple weeks of the present season to get a have a look at him towards MLB opponents.
