At the end of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2025 regular season, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski shared an update on pitching prospect Andrew Painter's role that fans can get excited about.
Painter, the Phillies' No.1 MLB Pipeline prospect, entered the 2025 season as his first after missing the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery due to a UCL sprain. He had an up-and-down year, which is understandable considering the severity of his surgery and the time unavailable due to his ailment.
Andrew Painter to compete for a spot in Phillies' starting rotation in spring training
According to Phillies Nation's Corey Seidman, Dombrowski discussed several topics related to the organization ahead of his team's short playoff run. One issue was his assessment of Painter's first season pitching since 2022.
“I think Andrew had a solid year,” Dombrowski said, per Seidman. “He went out there every five days basically all year long, pitched over 100 innings, felt good at the end of the year. The stuff was still good. His command wasn’t quite as good. We thought it was a very solid season for him and think he’ll be in position to come into camp next year and compete for a spot. It’s an encouraging type of scenario for him.”
Andrew Painter strikes out five in three one-hit frames in his Triple-A @IronPigs debut.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 8, 2025
The @Phillies' No. 1 prospect utilized his curveball for all five punchouts. pic.twitter.com/sfvlhVAWcX
Statistically, Painter did not have the kind of year expected from a top-ranked prospect. He went 5-8 with a 5.26 ERA in 26 starts. The right-hander nearly doubled his walk total this year compared to 2022, his last season pitching before suffering the injury. He finished with 25 walks in 22 outings in his last full season, compared to 47 this year.
Painter's K/9 was 9.38 this season, down from 13.46 in 2022, while his 4.81 FIP was much higher than his 2022 mark of 2.02. The 22-year-old's HR/9 increased from 0.43 to 1.53. He also faced tougher competition in the minors this year, as he spent the majority of it with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, his first year in Triple-A.
MLB's No. 8 prospect Andrew Painter (@Phillies) exceeds 100 pitches for the first time in his career as he spins a quality start for the @IronPigs:
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 30, 2025
6.1 IP
7 H
1 R
2 BB
4K
103 pitches; 65 strikes pic.twitter.com/DgRsmIa5qZ
In August, The Athletic's Charlotte Varnes wrote about what Painter learned from his inconsistent season (subscription required).
"I want to work on a lot of things,” Painter said, per Varnes, “and my mind does race a lot on ways to improve. At the end of the day, the approach has to be simplified.”
Phillies fans should not panic about Painter's season. The 13th overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft still may end up being a future starter for years to come. Expectations should be adjusted, however, as he may benefit from beginning next year in Triple-A.
The Phillies have no reason to rush him to the big leagues with Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker all under contract for 2026. An offseason addition may join their starting rotation for next year, also. They could bring back Walker Buehler. While it's unlikely at this point, but until he officially signs elsewhere, Ranger Suárez remains an option to return on a multi-year deal.
Ideally, Painter should make his MLB debut with momentum. Whenever he is called up for his anticipated first start, there shouldn't be any doubt that he is ready to compete at the major league level.