Phillies Set Highly Touted Prospect's First Minor League Start of Season

Things continue to improve for the Philadelphia Phillies as one of their highly regarded prospects is progressing quickly in rehab assignments.

Feb 20, 2025; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (76) participates in media day at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a strong start to their 2025 season so far, with a 6-2 record across the first eight games.

The MLB roster for the team has been outstanding, but the farm system has also shown signs of life as some of their best prospects have continued to improve, with some looking ready for a Major League debut in the near future.

One of the prospects who has been highly anticipated but had an injury setback was Andrew Painter, the top prospect in the Phillies minor league system according to MLB.com.

He was someone who could have been in-line for an MLB debut in 2023, but Tommy John surgery has pushed back that deadline until he has recovered and finds his footing once again.

The good news is that things are finally turning around in his recovery, and he is making significant strides towards improvement. Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported that the up-and-coming pitcher will be making his first rehab start on Friday for the Single-A Clearwater Threshers.

He last pitched in the Arizona Fall League, where he was sent after last season to get in some more work.

There, he was named the AFL pitcher of the year after he pitched 15.2 innings and finished with a 2.30 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and a .189 batting average against. He also struck out 18 and walked four while posting a 31 percent miss rate.

Painter threw a bullpen at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Friday, one that saw him pitch two innings' worth of baseball and a session that manager Rob Thomson was happy with.

The play for Painter was always been to begin the season in the minor leagues and manage his workload as he stretches himself out to be a full starter again. Philadelphia’s hope is that Painter will be able to become a part of the staff in the second half of the season.

So, this represents an enormous step for Painter and one that has been on the horizon for a few weeks now as he has shown signs of recovery lately.

Thankfully he is finally beginning to get back on track after being selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft, and if things go well, he could be back to Triple-A in the coming weeks depending on how he looks in these first rehab starts. That would also be an important step because Painter has not pitched above Double-A.

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