The Philadelphia Phillies are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball entering play on Friday. The team is number two in the most recent MLB Power Rankings. The Phillies have dominated in large part due to their pitching. They sent five pitchers to the All-Star Game this season, including three starters. Yet it’s possible the team’s best pitcher has yet to make his major league debut.
Andrew Painter is the top pitching prospect in the Phillies’ farm system. He’s been out of action since undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. But the 21-year-old righty took a significant step in his rehab when he threw to live batters for the first time on Wednesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Encouragingly, Painter reached a scorching 99 mph on his fastball while throwing a 15-pitch session.
While Painter has been able to throw bullpen sessions previously, Wednesday marked the first time he took the mound against live hitters. The young hurler was consistently throwing in the high 90s, per the Inquirer. The team anticipates him getting in another session against batters on Saturday.
The Phillies selected Painter with the 13th pick in the 2021 draft. He quickly became the team’s top pitching prospect and is currently Philadelphia’s second ranked player and the 33rd overall prospect in baseball, per MLB.com.
Phillies prospect Andrew Painter is on the road to recovery
Painter would likely be an important part of the team’s rotation at the moment but he was shut down for a month with a tear in his right elbow in March 2023. Ultimately, rest did not heal Painter's injury and he needed to get the infamous surgery in July.
The previous year, Painter announced his presence with a remarkable season. In 22 starts he went 6-2 with a 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 155 strikeouts in 103.2 innings. Opposing hitters were batting just .181 against him.
Painter was named the Pipeline Pitcher of the Year in 2022 by MLB. He was also the Phillies’ Minor League Player of the Year that season.
The Phillies remain one of the best teams in baseball. They have an eight-game lead in the National League East and appear to be a lock to make the playoffs for the third straight year. The Phillies sent an MLB-best eight players to the All-Star Game this season, including three starters for the first time in over 40 years.
However, Philadelphia is just 22-22 since returning from the All-Star break. The team’s rotation dominated in the first half, ranking top two in nearly every pitching category. But since mid July, the rotation ranks 15th or worse in ERA, strikeouts, batting average against, WHIP and WPA.
While this would be the ideal time to call up a prospect like Painter who can dominate batters with his 6’7” frame and high 90s stuff, the Phillies will have to wait until next season to see how he fares against major league hitters. If all goes well, he’ll continue on his trajectory as a top-of-the-rotation ace.