With the start of the 2026 regular season just a week away, the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching staff has looked ready to go. With mainstays such as Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola pitching well in the World Baseball Classic for their respective teams, and Jesús Luzardo showing that he is deserving of his contract extension in Clearwater, the starting staff has looked good.
On Wednesday, Andrew Painter appeared in what is likely his last start prior to Opening Day. The long-awaited prospect's performance should have squashed some of the concerns that were raised earlier in the spring.
Andrew Painter quashed Phillies fans' concerns in (likely) final spring training start
Encouragingly, Painter tossed four shutout innings against the division foe Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park in Venice, FL, on Wednesday. He was economical, needing just 52 pitches to get through his outing.
The 22-year-old pitcher allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three opposing hitters. After his promising start, Painter lowered his spring training ERA to 2.31 over 11 2/3 frames.
Perhaps even more important than the results of his final outing was the fact that Painter'sfastball velocity remained consistent throughout the game. He averaged between 96 and 97 mph in each of his four innings.
This is encouraging because, in his previous start, the right-hander saw his velocity dip from as high as 97 mph in his first inning of work down to just under 95 mph in his final frame.
Despite a subpar 2025 campaign, the Phillies' hurler seems poised to join the major league rotation this year. He knows what he has to do to correct some of the issues that plagued his command last season, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
“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," Painter told MLB.com.
Overall, Painter's spring had its ups and downs. The organization and Phillies' fans will hope that they get the version of Painter they saw this week. With Zack Wheeler sidelined to start the season, the importance of the organization's top-pitching prospect's performance has become magnified.
It appears that Painter is finally ready to crack the big-league roster out of spring training. He will undoubtedly face scrutiny, given the hype he has received over the last few seasons. If he can stay healthy and keep his command in check, the talented young pitcher will be a valuable arm in one of the top rotations in baseball.