Andrew Painter
The first one is quite obvious, Andrew Painter is a can’t miss elite pitching prospect that is destined to have a major impact once he reaches the majors. It is often very rare to have a homegrown product that oozes star potential already when they have only a couple years of professional baseball experience under their belt, but Painter has “superstar” written all over him right from the start. Taken by the Phillies in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft right out of Calvary Christian High School, Florida, Painter has been on the fast track to the big leagues. With a fastball that could hit triple digits and with a scouting grade of 70, along with his plus offerings of his slider, curveball, and changeup in his fearsome four-pitch arsenal, he has generated the ability to induce many strikeouts with his great command of his pitches.
As a result, Painter had blazed through three minor league levels in just the past year in 2022, recording an impressive 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, striking out a whopping 155 batters in just 103.2 innings pitched over 22 games started. He was even projected to start this season with the Phillies on their Opening Day roster until he suffered a sprained UCL in his right pitching elbow in Spring Training that has sidelined him ever since. Apparently, news with regards to the update on his injury has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse recently, as he may now need to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery to rectify the issue.
Nevertheless, he will still be at the young ripe age of 22 by the time he fully recovers from the surgery, if he chooses to pursue that route, with plenty of time left to build upon his success so far in his professional baseball career. With his unlimited potential and ultimate impact that he will have with the ballclub in the future, it is definitely a “must” that the Phillies do not include Painter in any trade talks whatsoever.