Phillies Must Remain Patient With Struggling Young Starter

Should the Philadelphia Phillies panic about a young starter struggling?

Apr 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly before a game against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies came into Thursday night seeking a sweep of the Athletics, but a poor performance resulted in a bad loss for a team that has been red-hot. 

There have been few better teams in baseball than the Phillies over the last 10 games. Since the firing of Rob Thomson, the team has received a needed jolt and has completely turned things around. 

To start, they were able to sweep the San Francisco Giants at home, with a couple of thrilling walk-off wins. Then, they faced the Miami Marlins and were able to take three out of four games. Furthermore, heading into the weekend, Philadelphia won the first two games to secure the series win against the Athletics. Unfortunately, with the team thinking about a sweep, their young right-hander, Andrew Painter, had his worst performance of the year. 

In the loss, Painter went 3.2 innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits and three walks. The young right-hander saw his ERA balloon to 6.89, and it might be time to be a little bit worried about his play. 

Struggles of a Painter a Concern

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Coming into the year, hopes were high for Painter. The young right-hander has been one of the top prospects in the system for a number of years, and 2026 was going to be the year for him to get his chance. The right-hander was blocked a bit last year by one of the best rotations in baseball, but the decision to let Ranger Suarez walk in free agency was likely in part to create a spot for Painter.

However, with another poor start, there have undoubtedly been some growing pains for the young pitcher. Going deep into games has been an issue for him so far, and Thursday ended up being his worst start of the season. 

The 23-year-old has yet to make it six innings in a start, and walking batters has become a bit of an issue of late. Including the recent loss to the Athletics, he has now walked eight batters in his last three games. That is not a recipe for going deep into games, and he will have to work on it. 

Even though he is struggling, the Phillies will likely continue to let him work through some things. While the outing on Thursday was not an encouraging sign, Painter is still very young and is going to have some ups and downs moving into the majors.