Painter honored as best in Florida
Calvary Christian pitcher named state’s Gatorade Player of the Year
South Florida’s premier ace pitcher earned a statewide honor on Tuesday.
Calvary Christian senior pitcher Andrew Painter was named Gatorade’s Florida Baseball Player of the Year. Painter was the Sun Sentinel’s Broward County Class 5A-1A co-player of the year along with teammate Irv Carter.
The Eagles’ senior star dominated opponents, going 6-1 with a 0.38 ERA and striking out 93 batters in 47 innings. Painter struck out 10 or more batters in five games.
“Andrew Painter is one of the best high school baseball players in the country, yet he is humble, selfless and focused on others,” Calvary Christian Academy athletic director Keith Huisman said in a news release. “He is entirely focused on being a good teammate and raising the level of play of those around him. He is the embodiment of what we want a Calvary student-athlete to look like.”
Painter is signed to pitch at Florida, but it is unlikely he steps foot on the mound in Gainesville. Painter is one of the top high-school pitchers in the nation, and he will likely be selected early in July’s MLB draft. MLB Pipeline rates him as the No. 17 prospect in the draft.
Painter is the first Calvary Christian player to win the award. He is the sixth player from Broward or Palm Beach counties to win the award and the first since Archbishop McCarthy star and current Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos won the award in 2010.
Past local winners also include American Heritage’s Eric Hosmer (2008), Wellington’s Sean Burnett (2000), Wellington’s Bobby Bradley (1999) and Palm Beach Lakes’ Charles Alley (1995). Other past winners include Major League stars Zack Grienke, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield.