The Philadelphia Phillies are among Major League Baseball’s best teams in 2025, but this may be the core group’s final chance to win a World Series championship. With players aging and contracts expiring, the Phillies must rely on their young talent in the farm system to live up to expectations and keep the championship window open. Unfortunately, it sounds like Andrew Painter, the Phillies’ No. 1 MLB Pipeline prospect, might not contribute at all this year.
The Phillies traded away two of their top prospects, Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait, at this year’s deadline to acquire Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins. Despite rumors, the organization was able to keep its top three prospects.
Although the Phillies seem reluctant to give Justin Crawford an opportunity in the big leagues and Aidan Miller hasn’t quite had the success he had hoped for during his first full season in Double-A, the future is still bright for the pair of 21-year-olds. Painter hasn’t been able to fully rebound post-Tommy John surgery (subscription required) at Triple-A with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2025, per The Athletic's Charlotte Varnes.
Command slowing down Andrew Painter’s march toward MLB debut
Painter isn’t just the Phillies’ top prospect; the 22-year-old is one of the top prospects in baseball. The right-hander hasn’t had any issues with his velocity, but his command has been a problem as he continues to make his way back from his injury.
Painter made four starts at Single-A earlier this year before joining the IronPigs. He allowed just one walk but gave up two home runs in 11 1/3 innings with the Clearwater Threshers.
Despite recording five strikeouts in three innings in his highly anticipated Triple-A debut on May 8, Painter walked three batters in that outing. He’s allowed at least one walk in 14 of his 16 starts with the IronPigs, including nine multi-walk games and four free passes three times.
Command isn’t just attributed to allowing walks or hitting batters; it also has to do with pitch location. After allowing two home runs through four starts at Single-A, Painter has allowed 14 home runs with the IronPigs. Alarmingly, he has allowed six multi-home run games in 2025, including a season-high three home runs allowed on July 8.
Phillies getting cold feet about Andrew Painter making MLB debut this season
The Phillies had originally marked July as a tentative timeline for Painter’s MLB debut coming into the season, but his inconsistency in the minors has delayed his promotion. The 2021 first-round pick is 3-5 with a 5.42 ERA across 16 starts with the IronPigs, including his most recent start in which he allowed nine hits, two walks and seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
The Phillies are considering building in extra rest between Andrew Painter’s starts after struggles with command.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) August 12, 2025
While a 2025 call-up is no longer looking as inevitable as it once did, Rob Thomson said he “wouldn’t close the door” on this year, either:https://t.co/T4Wiiak0c0
“I wouldn’t close the door on it, because anything can happen,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about Painter’s inevitable MLB debut (subscription required), per The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March. “I mean, all of a sudden he catches his second wind, we have some injuries here, and then, you know? I wouldn’t close the door on it.”
Entering Wednesday’s series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, the Phillies have 43 games left in the regular season. With Aaron Nola set to return to the starting rotation and the starting pitching being the team’s biggest strength, there’s no need to rush Painter to the big leagues if he’s not ready.
Although the Phillies could give their top prospect a chance or bring him up as an extra reliever for the playoffs, the likelihood of Painter making his MLB debut in 2025 is looking bleaker by the day.