The Philadelphia Phillies are counting on prospect Andrew Painter to play a big role in the starting rotation this season. Much to everyone's relief, Painter looks ready to attack his opportunity to grab an Opening Day roster spot and has said as much early in spring training.
It was three springs ago as a 19-year-old that Painter was poised to secure a rotation spot. He's now 22 and has overcome Tommy John surgery in 2023 and a season of struggles in 2025 to get to this point. Fans will love to hear that the Phillies are taking the reins off their No. 2 MLB Pipeline prospect heading into spring training.
"No limitations this year," Painter recently told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
Phillies will be happy to welcome Andrew Painter to starting rotation this season
Painter made 26 starts last year, split between Single-A Clearwater and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. As has been well-documented, he struggled immensely. He finished the year with a 5-8 record, a 5.26 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 123 strikeouts in 118 innings.
Those weren't the results anyone was expecting from the right-hander who had maintained his spot atop the team's prospect rankings throughout his surgery recovery. But at least he stayed healthy.
The Phillies front office had originally hoped that he'd be able to make his MLB debut sometime during the 2025 regular season. His struggles with command, which led to an uncharactericly high 3.58 BB/9 and Triple-A hitters punishing him when he had to come into the zone, stemmed from losing his arm slot due to fatigue.
He worked hard during the offseason to resolve the issue, according to Zolecki.
"It felt kind of weird, getting back to that," Painter said, per Zolecki. "You know, some of the drills and just the catch play, trying to get back to that movement pattern. I'd say after about a month of every day just focusing on that, it kind of just became muscle memory. There’s not much thought behind the mechanics with the arm slot when I'm throwing out there. I think that's the best way to be.
"I just dropped a little bit. There were multiple things that kind of happened throughout the year, so just trying to get rid of those bad habits that I created last year and get back to usual."
And so far, things are looking good for Painter early in spring training. Both manager Rob Thomson and catcher J.T. Realmuto have raved about Painter's command.
"He looks great. I caught his bullpen yesterday," Realmuto said last week. "Shoot, I want to say it was 98, 99 [mph]. It’s just easy. It doesn’t look like he’s throwing max effort ... It’s still coming out that firm … He is kind of like Wheeler. His stuff is so elite, and he’s still able to throw the ball on the edges."
Finding his command again, paired with his high-velocity stuff should make Painter a formidable rookie this season. He has yet to make his first spring start, but Phillies fans can look forward to that happening sooner rather than later. The team needs him to be ready for the beginning of the regular season with Zack Wheeler still working his way back.
Even Bryce Harper knows how important Painter is to the team's hopes this year. By all accounts, Painter is more than ready to tackle the challenge.