What the Phillies' Top Prospect Hopes to Achieve During Huge Spring Opportunity

Andrew Painter will draw more eyeballs than any other Phillie this spring, not only because the Phils' fanbase has waited for at least three years to see how good he might be but because he's now an integral part of the roster.

Back in February 2023 when Painter was competing with Bailey Falter for the Phillies' fifth starter's job, the 19-year-old would have been a luxury in a stacked rotation. Three years and one Tommy John surgery later, Painter will be relied on much more, as long as performance warrants a spot in the big-league rotation. He's no longer the cherry on top of a Shirley Temple but now one of the primary ingredients.

"The biggest thing, it's not only how do you get there but how do you stay there and stay healthy," Painter told Devan Kaney of 94 WIP on Tuesday.

"Everyone's always told me that the second year back (from Tommy John surgery) is when you're going to feel good and the most important part. First year is kind've the health. I think (2025) was a success. A lot of stuff I learned, some things I don't want to do moving forward. I learned how to manage a high workload last year and kind've just stay on the field."

A full year in the minors

Most assumed Painter would be promoted to the major leagues in 2025 after Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski provided a loose timeline of "July-ish" last spring. But while he made a full complement of starts and even pitched on regular four days' rest for the first time in mid-June, Painter was not effective enough to earn the promotion.

In 22 starts with Triple A Lehigh Valley, Painter had a 5.40 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. His opponents hit .276 with an .826 OPS.

"I didn't earn it," he said. "It's not given, it's got to be earned. The product on the field, I didn't earn that last year and I know that, everyone else knows that. So this year, try to learn from it, build off it and come back this year.

"The command has been a big thing this offseason along with some mechanical things. Just the body as a whole, getting quicker, being faster, back to the pre-TJ form when everything was a little more upbeat, up-tempo."

Realmuto's view

Painter made just one Grapefruit League start three years ago, pitching two innings against the Twins in Fort Myers. He came away from the outing with elbow soreness and went on to miss all of 2023 and 2024 before excelling in the Arizona Fall League after the '24 season.

J.T. Realmuto caught for him in camp back then and again this spring, and he's impressed by what he sees.

"He looks great. I caught his bullpen yesterday and, shoot, I want to say he was 98-99 and it was just easy," Realmuto told John Clark on the Takeoff podcast.

"It doesn't look like he's throwing max effort, which, this time of year, you don't want guys doing and it's still coming out that firm. I watched some of his video from last year and it looked like his stuff was there, I just think a lot of guys coming back from that injury, they don't quite have the feel for the baseball to command it like they normally do.

"Painter's one of those rare instances where he has such quality stuff but he also commands the baseball really well. For how young he was, I was always impressed with how well he can command the ball. I think that was the biggest difference last year, he just was leaving some more balls over the middle of the plate, getting in bad counts and then having to throw it over the center.

"When he's right and feeling good, he's kind've like (Zack) Wheeler where his stuff is so elite but he's still able to throw it on the edges."

If he doesn't disappoint in spring training, Painter figures to be in the Phillies' season-opening rotation, either in the No. 4 or 5 spot. And even if Wheeler returns in late-April or May to a healthy starting five, Painter could still remain in the rotation if he's outperforming Taijuan Walker.