Breaking Down the Six Different Pitches Andrew Painter Threw in Spring Debut

All eyes were on Andrew Painter on Sunday afternoon as the Yankees visited Clearwater, and the Phillies' top pitching prospect did not disappoint.

Painter cruised through two innings that went about as well as possible. He threw six different pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, sweeper, curveball and changeup.

The Yankees loaded up with lefties. Five of the first six hitters in their lineup were left-handed bats: Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez, Ryan McMahon and J.C. Escarra.

Painter set them aside six up, six down.

Here's an at-bat by at-bat breakdown:

Painter vs. Grisham

Painter's first pitch of the day was a 97 mph fastball for a swinging strike. He missed high, well above the zone with his next two offerings, a fastball and curveball.

No big shock there. Missing high is typically a sign of a pitcher being amped up, and you can understand why Painter was for those first few pitches Sunday in his first spring training start in exactly three years.

Painter jammed Grisham with 97 in on the hands for a harmless popup to shortstop.

A theme from his outing was late jump on the fastball. It appeared to explode on hitters late.

Painter vs. Rice

Painter's first pitch was a 96 mph fastball high, but he settled into the first inning from there. His next pitch was 97 in the zone, perhaps catching too much plate, but when you have his kind of velocity there is more margin for error.

Rice softly grounded out to second base on that second pitch.

Painter vs. Dominguez

Painter threw four different pitches in his eight-pitch strikeout of Dominguez, finishing him off with his only slider of the inning.

He quickly worked ahead 0-2 with a nicely placed curveball on the outside corner and then a 97 mph heater right down the chute.

J.T. Realmuto gave him a supportive nod after Painter hit his glove on 0-2 with a fastball just above the zone. That's where you want an 0-2 fastball. Dominguez fouled it off.

Painter then uncorked two changeups, missing up-and-away, then too far inside.

He followed up with two perfectly executed fastballs: 95 at the knees, 98 in on the hands. Dominguez fouled off both before Painter fooled him with a 90 mph slider.

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— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 1, 2026

Painter threw 14 pitches in the first inning, then needed only six in the second.

Painter vs. DeJong

Veteran shortstop Paul DeJong was the lone right-handed hitter Painter faced on Sunday. He threw him two pitches.

DeJong swung and missed for strike one on a well-executed sweeper on the outside corner, then flied out softly to right field on a 95 mph sinker on the inner half. This was the first sweeper and sinker Painter threw on the day.

Painter vs. McMahon

Another two-pitch at-bat. The first was another 97 mph four-seamer at the top of the zone for called strike one. The last was another heater at 97 on the inner half of the plate.

It was in a lefty's nitro zone, but again, this was a spot you can get away with more easily at 97 then at 92-93. McMahon grounded out to short.

Painter vs. Escarra

Escarra made solid contact with a line drive on a high heater but it was directly at rightfielder Adolis Garcia. It was the third consecutive two-pitch at-bat for Painter to end his afternoon. He went heater-heater, both at 97, with both pitches just off the plate away and up. Both were effective spots.

This was a two-inning glimpse of what Painter has to offer. He has a deep mix of pitches, the build of a classic right-handed workhorse and the potential to pitch at the top of a rotation for years to come.

Painter will be in the Phillies' season-opening rotation, barring injury. He's coming off the most normal offseason he's had as a pro. Painter was only 19 years old in 2023 when the Phillies brought him to camp to compete with Bailey Falter to be their fifth starter. It's been a long road back to this spot, but he's still very young at 22 with the chance to be a major contributor for a contending team.