PHILLIES PROSPECT BRINGS HEAT
The stage hardly looked too big for pitcher Andrew Painter.
The hard-throwing Philadelphia 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 mph 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 Vazquez 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 in Fort Myers while pitching for Philadelphia’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.
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.
Sale on track to return
Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale likely will make his Grapefruit League debut next week.
The seven-time All-Star threw 43 pitches over two innings of batting practice on Wednesday. Boston manager Alex Cora told reporters that Sale should be cleared to work two-to-three innings in a game sometime next week.
Sale, 33, was limited to just two starts last year and 11 starts in all since 2020 due to a variety of health issues.
Pain-free LeMahieu
New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu went 1-for-2 against Washington in his first game since being sidelined last September by a right toe injury.
He singled off the left-field wall in the third, and played four innings at second base. More importantly, LeMahieu enjoyed his pain-free atbats since the middle of last season.
“I’m excited about that,” LeMahieu said. “Excited to keep it going. I’ve been feeling good, and I expect it to stay that way.”
Swing shift
The early returns on Major League Baseball’s decision to restrict shifts are promising.
Runs and batting average were both up through the first wave of games compared to spring training a year ago. Players were hitting .272 through Feb. 28, with an average of 11.9 runs scored. That’s up from a batting average of .259 and 10.6 runs through the same period in 2022.
The uptick in offense does not appear to be affecting pace of play, thanks in large part to the introduction of the pitch clock. The average game time through Feb. 28 was 2 hours, 39 minutes. That’s down from 3:01 over the same stretch last spring training.
Umpires remain aggressive in enforcing timing rules. Cleveland shortstop Jose Tena was called out for not engaging the pitcher until there were less than 8 seconds left on the clock.