Painter pitches broad strokes in spring debut
The stage hardly looked too big for pitcher Andrew Painter. The hard-throwing Phillies prospect’s fastball touched 99 mph in his spring training debut against Minnesota on Wednesday.
The 19-year-old allowed one run and three hits with a strikeout in two innings, a solid first step as he attempts to crack Philadelphia’s starting rotation before his 20th birthday on April 10. The 6-foot-7 Painter showcased a little bit of why the Phillies are so high on him.
The 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft nearly reached 100 on the radar gun while facing Carlos
Correa in the first inning, though Correa did reach on an infield single.
“You know, (Correa) is pretty good at what he does,” Painter joked with reporters afterward. “So just trying to get by him.”
Painter threw 18 of 29 pitches for strikes and fanned Max Kepler with a 90 mph cutter. He ran into a bit of trouble in the second inning after allowing consecutive singles to Christian Vázquez and Nick Gordon before giving up a run on a sacrifice fly. The game ended in a 4-4 tie.
Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs praised Painter’s poise, which Painter attributed in part to having played at Hammond Stadium while pitching for Philly’s Class A affiliate last year.
“I felt like we didn’t even get to the point where he can probably get to but he did really well,” Stubbs said. “You saw the kind of repertoire. He can spin the ball. He was throwing strikes. Obviously a really good heater and I don’t even think today’s heater was as good as it normally is. So I think we have even more to see from him.”
Painter sprinted through Philadelphia’s system in 2022, going 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 appearances spread across two Class A squads and Double-A Reading. Ranked the No. 6 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Painter is trying to earn a spot as the No. 5 starter for the defending National League champion.