The Philadelphia Phillies are not particularly gifted in the art of developing prospects. In fact, they’re downright terrible at it. That couldn’t have been made any clearer than in Friday night’s pitching matchup between struggling Phillies youngster Andrew Painter and Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski.
Painter was supposed to be the next big thing. The franchise that has boasted such legendary hurlers as Robin Roberts, Curt Schilling, Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay tabbed the 2021 first-round pick as the next great Phillies pitcher. Unfortunately, he’s been anything but in his first taste of the major leagues.
The Florida high school product made his name as a teenager by torching minor league hitters immediately after being drafted, and looked to be on the verge of making his big league debut at just 20 years old in 2023. However, that plan was swiftly derailed when he went down with a UCL tear during spring training. That led to Tommy John surgery, and two full seasons missed.
Painter wasn’t the same in his return to minor league action, posting an ugly 5.40 ERA in 26 Triple-A starts last year. His blazing fastball that once looked like it could overwhelm anyone had become something akin to a batting practice meatball. Still, Painter’s track record spoke for itself, and the Phils penciled him into their Opening Day rotation to start this season.
That experiment has gone even worse than his time in Triple-A, as the now-23-year-old has a ghastly 6.43 ERA over 63 innings of work. Painter’s looked much closer to Taijuan Walker than he has to Roy Halladay, serving up beachball after beachball to opposing hitters. He’s struck out only fifty batters while allowing 77 hits and 22 walks for a horrifying 1.57 WHIP.
Phillies fans are quickly growing tired of the Andrew Painter experience, as his starts have become scheduled losses for a team that can hardly afford to throw away games. It’s important to remember that many a big leaguer have struggled in their age-23 season before going on to a long and fruitful career. Still, that doesn’t make it any more palatable to watch him play the part of a piñata every fifth day.
Andrew Painter stinks
— Nico Maddred (@nico_maddred) June 13, 2026
that’s NOT good for the Phillies future
he keeps tanking his stock
What made Friday night’s beatdown even worse for the Phillies was the man on the other side of the ledger: Jacob Misiorowski. The Miz has a lot in common with his opposite number: blazing fastball, lanky 6’7” frame, and the hopes of a fanbase on his shoulders. Like Painter, he came through the minors with an extraordinary amount of hype. Unlike Painter, he’s delivered on those expectations in spades.
Jacob Misiorowski has become what Phillies fans hope Andrew Painter can be
The 24-year-old entered Friday’s contest with a dazzling 1.50 ERA over 78 innings on the season with a whopping 116 strikeouts. His name has been bandied about alongside Cristopher Sánchez as a potential All-Star Game starter, and he further solidified his case for that honor with an absolute gem against the Phils.
Misiorowski was playing with his food when he faced off against a feeble Phillies offense, yielding just a single hit during an otherwise perfect night. He needed just 95 pitches to retire all 27 hitters in order, punching out 15 along the way and never looking anything less than utterly dominant.
Conversely, Painter appeared completely lost on the mound once again. The Phillies opted to use an opener to start the game given his struggles this season, but to no avail. After coming on in the second inning, Painter surrendered five earned runs over five innings, walking three and surrendering five hits while striking out just three. That terrible showing raised Painter’s season-long ERA to an untenable 6.43, meanwhile Misiorowski lowered his mark to an absurd 1.34.
Things are clearly not working for Painter at the major league level, and yet he’s stuck there for the time being. The Phillies don’t have anyone to replace him with, as the Triple-A rotation is a hodgepodge of has-beens and never-weres. He still has plenty of time to turn things around and blossom into the pitcher he was supposed to be, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that it won’t happen this season.
It’s been a long time since the Phillies properly developed a top prospect. Domonic Brown, Tommy Joseph, Scott Kingery, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott; the list of highly-regarded youngsters who never lived up to their potential goes on and on. It remains to be seen if Painter will add his name to that infamous group, but Friday night poured salt in the wound as fans saw a matchup between who they want Painter to be and who he actually has been.
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