The Philadelphia Phillies have taken a cautious approach with top pitching prospect Andrew Painter as he continues to make his way back from Tommy John surgery. Phillies fans are eager to see the organization’s No. 1 prospect with the big league club, but Painter’s debut may not come as soon as originally thought.
The Phillies were reportedly looking at a July deadline for Painter to make his major league debut. The team’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, recently appeared on an episode of “The Show” hosted by Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman in which the insiders asked about Painter’s looming debut.
There's a chance Andrew Painter might not make his MLB debut as early as we thought
The Phillies drafted Painter 13th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school. After an impressive start to his minor league career, between four starts at the rookie level in 2021 and 22 starts across three levels in 2022, Painter was competing for a starting rotation spot with the Phillies during spring training in 2023 at just 19 years old.
Unfortunately, Painter suffered an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. The right-hander missed two full seasons before making his return to the mound in 2025.
Painter made his first four starts of the 2025 season in Single-A, where he went 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old made his highly anticipated Triple-A debut on May 8, when he allowed just one hit, no runs and recorded five strikeouts in three innings. He’s 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 20 strikeouts in four starts with the IronPigs, and most importantly, has increased his workload.
Although Painter is progressing well and having success in the minors, his long-awaited MLB debut could be pushed back even further. The potential delay has nothing to do with Painter; it has to do with the fact that the Phillies feature one of the top starting rotations in the majors, with no spot for the young pitcher.
“By no means is it guaranteed that he’s coming up to the major leagues in July, because if your other five starting pitchers are pitching great, he just keeps going there [Triple-A] and then you figure it out,” Dombrowski told Sherman and Heyman when discussing Painter’s inevitable MLB debut.
Entering Sunday, the Phillies’ starting rotation owns the 10th-lowest ERA (3.66), is tied for the second-most wins (23), has the third-most innings pitched (329 1/3) and has recorded the most strikeouts (367). Zack Wheeler is a legitimate NL Cy Young candidate, and the Phillies have quality depth with top prospect Mick Abel, who tossed six scoreless innings and recorded nine strikeouts in his major league debut on May 18 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The wait to finally see Painter on a major league mound may take longer than expected, but there’s a lot to like about him. He’s a 6-foot-7 hard-throwing pitcher with a great breaking ball. The Phillies have a good one with Painter and have no reason to rush him to the big leagues.