Phillies' Impressive Rookie Rightfully Seen as Early NL Rookie of the Year Candidate

Despite their struggles, the Philadelphia Phillies have an early NL ROTY candidate.

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Even though things haven’t gone well for the Philadelphia Phillies as a team just yet, there have been some individual performances for the team. 

As the Phillies get set for their game on Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves, the team is limping quite a bit. In their last 10 games, they have won just three of them, and they are on the verge of being swept at home. 

Despite being a great team at home last year, their current nine-game homestand has been far from good. As expected with a poor record, not much is going well for the team, and that has to be a concern going forward. 

As a group, neither the pitching staff nor the lineup is performing up to expectations, and the team has suffered because of it. Furthermore, with a couple of injuries to key players like Jhoan Duran, things aren't looking up for the team right now. 

Coming into the year, Philadelphia was expected to bring up some of their young talent to hopefully provide a positive jolt. So far, one of their top prospects from the last couple of years has performed well, and that is one of the few encouraging signs for the team. 

Anthony Castrovince of MLB recently ranked some of the top contenders for the National League Rookie of the Year award. For the Phillies, pitcher Andrew Painter was wisely in the mix coming in ranked fourth early on. 

Painter Certainly Can Compete

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Andrew Painter | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The big right-hander has been a highly talked-about player for the team for the last few years, and while there was the potential of his debut last year, they ultimately waited until this season to give him a chance. 

So far, while there haven’t been a lot of positives for the team, the performance of Painter at least has been one of them. In three appearances, he has totaled a 1-0 record, 3.77 ERA, and 16 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched. 

The numbers for Painter have been strong early on, but the competition looks stiff early on in the NL for the Rookie of the Year award. Within his own division and on the mound, he will have to contend with Nolan McLean, who got a good amount of experience in the majors last year. Furthermore, the NL Central features Konnor Griffin and Sal Stewart. 

While it is very early in the campaign, Painter is in the early mix, which is very encouraging to see. Hopefully, the team will start to play a bit better around him, and he can have a strong rookie season.