The Philadelphia Phillies' long 10-game roadtrip was capped off by a weird series split against the Nationals in which they received terrible news about ace Zack Wheeler dealing with a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. If there's any good news to take away from the team's best pitcher being sidelined for an unidentified period of time, it's that Phillies fans might be one step closer to seeing prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter finally pitch for them.
But perhaps the only way Painter gets the call at this point is if another starter goes down, which would be less than ideal. But it's nonetheless a good opportunity for Painter to continue to tinker with his game at Triple-A in what has been a strange season for the 22-year-old.
Phillies should call on Andrew Painter if another starter gets hurt
The 2025 season started with sky-high expectations for Painter in his first full season following his 2023 Tommy John surgery. The expectation was that Painter would ramp up through the Phillies' minor league system before being promoted to the majors sometime in the summer to give the starting rotation some innings.
Those expectations were lowered a little for Painter amidst his recent struggles at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Across 92 2/3 innings for the IronPigs, Painter has a disappointing 5.15 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. His last five starts have been all over the place, with him having allowed two earned runs or fewer in three starts, but five or more in two starts, including a seven-run clunker. One main issue for Painter's struggles has been the inconsistency with his command, as he has already walked 10 more batters than he did in his last season of work in 2022.
If a September call-up were to happen, Painter would have to throw more strikes and miss more bats. That was the same problem the team had with former top prospect Mick Abel, who, despite his potential, was too erratic in his short time in the majors. However, Painter's potential is still immense, and MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 10 prospect in baseball.
The Phillies' rotation is in a weird spot right now, with Taijuan Walker's resurgence earning him his starter's role and Aaron Nola pitching a stinker in his long-awaited return from the IL. Abel likely would have been the leading candidate to replace any of the Phillies' starters before he was traded to Minnesota at the trade deadline. That role as the emergency man in the minors now should belong to Painter, even despite his disappointing season.