Andrew Painter has fallen on hard times in recent years, as the former top pitching prospect in the sport has fallen out of favor with Philadelphia Phillies fans. Things got so bad during his rookie campaign that the Phils demoted him to Triple-A. They’ll need to acquire another starting pitcher at the trade deadline to make up for what Painter couldn’t give them, but his encouraging first two outings back in the minors give some hope that the issue won’t be as pressing as it seemed.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski handed the untested Painter a rotation job out of spring training this year and it was an abject disaster. The 23-year-old was battered around for a 7.06 ERA over 14 games in the majors, and was demoted to Lehigh Valley after a horrifying June 17th start against the Miami Marlins.
The Phillies are slow playing Painter’s minor league assignment, as he’s started just two contests in the three-plus weeks since he was sent down. His first outing was rather encouraging, in which he tossed four innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts.
The 2021 first-round pick built on that momentum on Sunday when he fired six more frames of one-run work, punching out six and not walking a batter, while showing good life on his fastball.
Andrew Painter made his 2nd start for Lehigh Valley tonight.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrPHL) July 5, 2026
6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 6 K, 0 BB — 69 pitches, 48 strikes
Fastball was at 97 in the 6th and sinker touched 98 in the 1st. #Phillies
There’s an enormous difference between mowing down Triple-A batters and doing the same in the majors, but given the fact that Painter had an ERA over 5.00 in the highest level of the minors last season, it seems he may be turning a corner. This news couldn’t come at a better time for a Phillies team that is in desperate need of starting pitching. The top three of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo is beyond reproach, but Aaron Nola (despite Sunday’s solid outing) has turned into a pumpkin, and the fifth spot is completely up for grabs.
The Phillies may only need four competent starters in a short playoff series, but they certainly need a fifth hurler to get through the regular season. As things stand Dombrowski will have to go deadline shopping for a dependable arm to chew up innings down the stretch.
If Andrew Painter can turn things around, the Phillies can save some prospect capital at the deadline
One problem with addressing the Phillies’ needs through trade is a lack of prospect capital. Their suspect farm system is headlined by top-100 prospect Aidan Miller who has yet to play a game this season due to a back injury. Aside from last year’s first-rounder Gage Wood, there aren’t many high-level prospects the Phillies could dangle for a significant upgrade.
If the Phils are in the market for a quality, controllable starting pitcher like Joe Ryan, or an elite rental like Tarik Skubal, they would need to part with Wood and more, gutting the top layer of their farm system. Considering the fact that they’ll also need to explore right field and late-inning relief upgrades, it wouldn’t be wise to spend what they have on starting pitching. That’s where this encouraging Painter news can help ease the burden just a bit.
If Painter’s stock is rehabilitated enough that the Phillies think he can step back into the rotation full-time in 2027, then they don’t need to go all out in their pursuit of starting pitching. Bringing in merely a cromulent innings-eater like Drew Anderson would be enough to patch the gaping hole, while still preserving their trade capital for more significant areas of need.
Andrew Painter’s entire future won’t be written in his next handful of minor league outings. The former wunderkind is too young and has too much talent to be given up on entirely. However, if he can keep showing signs of progress it’ll help smooth over one massive troublespot for this team, and allow them to use their scant resources to address other equally pressing issues.
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