With the minor league season now long since over, a handful of Philadelphia Phillies prospects will be headed to the Arizona Fall League which runs from Oct. 7-Nov. 15. The team previously announced that nine players would make up part of the Glendale Desert Dogs roster, which will also feature minor league talent from the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox farm systems.
A few notable names headline the list of Phillies prospects heading to the desert, with SS Bryan Rincon, OF Gabriel Rincones Jr., RHP Wen-Hui Pan, and RHP Griff McGarry all expected to participate in the fall tournament. While a pair of consensus top prospects like Justin Crawford and Aiden Miller will not be making the trek to Arizona, some exciting news that was first reported by MLB.com's Todd Zolecki about the organization's long-sidelined top pitching prospect should get Phillies fans pumped for things to come next season.
Phillies’ top pitching prospect Andrew Painter making surprise trip to pitch in Arizona Fall League
According to Zolecki, that last-minute addition is none other than No. 2 prospect Andrew Painter. His recent progress includes returning to the mound for the first time this summer after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer. He'll now take the next step, facing professional hitters in game action for the first time since he was shut down during spring training in 2023.
Prior to undergoing surgery last season, the Phillies first-round pick in the 2019 Draft had made a steady climb up the organizational ladder, while being ranked among the top 30 best prospects in MLB from evaluators at MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Despite not throwing a professional pitch in two seasons, respect for Painter's talent has kept him ranked within the top 50 in 2024 on both sites.
According to additional reporting from The Philadelphia Inquirer's Alex Coffey, Painter's velocity has returned to pre-Tommy John levels, with his fastball said to be regularly touching between 95-99 mph. The Phillies have been super cautious with the talented 21-year-old flamethrower, opting for a program that started with low-intensity activities, such as long tossing, to increasing his workload to include pitching on the mound in simulated games late in the season.
Can confirm @ToddZolecki’s report that Andrew Painter is going to the Arizona Fall League. He’s built up to two innings so far. Fastball velo is 95-99. Slider is upper 80s- low 90s.
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) October 7, 2024
The tentative plan is to have him start with a two inning outing and build up from there.
Andrew Painter's health is a very important factor that has a major impact on the Phillies' immediate future and beyond, with few other Phillies prospects flashing the same top-of-the-rotation potential. There was a small chance that Painter could have made his debut in 2023 with a strong spring training, so perhaps a solid and healthy showing in the Arizona Fall League could give the Phillies the confidence to give him another long look in spring training next year.