Fantasy Baseball Prospect Watch: Top Pitchers Include Andrew Painter, Logan Henderson

Last week, in several of my 12-team leagues, I took a strategic approach by adding Joe Boyle and Andrew Painter to bolster my pitching depth. Additionally, I drafted Brandon Woodruff on a few teams, anticipating his return to the majors in early May. While reviewing the starting rotations from last season for potential free agent pickups, I noticed that Logan Henderson's rotation dates aligned perfectly with the struggling Quinn Priester, presenting him with a potential opportunity for a midweek call-up. Let's take a look at each of this pitchers in this week's starting pitcher prospect watch.

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies

After four short-inning starts at A-ball (five runs, 11 baserunners, and two home runs over 11.1 innings with 12 strikeouts), the Phillies have Painter lined up to make his next start at AAA on Thursday. He threw 42 pitches in his last start over four innings, suggesting that his arm could be ready for a major league promotion after two more minor league appearances.

MLB's No. 7 prospect Andrew Painter dials his fastball up to 98.3 mph in his fourth rehab start of the season for the Single-A @Threshers ⛽️ @Phillies | @PhilsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/eVf9BsvzWV
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 1, 2025

Joe Boyle, Tampa Bay Rays

Boyle has been an absolute beast to open the season at AAA, considering his walk rate in the minors (7.0) and majors (6.2) in his career. The Rays have unlocked his fountain of command, leading to an impressive arm. Over six starts between AAA and Tampa, Boyle allowed five runs, 24 baserunners, and two home runs over 31.0 innings with 40 strikeouts. More importantly, his walk rate (3.5) is well below his previous seasons. Even with it being higher than the best arms in baseball, he offsets this shortfall by allowing a low number of hits (5.1 per nine in the minors and 6.6 over his 68.2 in the majors).

Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers

Based on his last outing at AAA (two runs, eight baserunners, and six strikeouts over five innings), Woodruff should be back in the majors next week. He threw 83 pitches in his last outing, but his fastball (92.7 mph) remains well below his previous season with the Brewers (95.9 in 2023). Over his five rehab appearances, Woodruff has a 2.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts over 23.1 innings.

Logan Henderson, Milwaukee Brewers

After his major league debut (one run, four baserunners, and nine strikeouts over six innings), Henderson pitched two excellent games at AAA (two runs, six baserunners, and 11 strikeouts over 12.0 innings). He has a 0.96 ERA and 0.643 WHIP over his last 28.0 innings with 38 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee has wheeled out Quinn Priester twice over the past 12 days, leading to losing results (12 runs, 14 hits, two home runs, seven walks, and six strikeouts over 9.1 innings). I’m sure the Brewers have Brandon Woodruff scheduled to replace Priester in their starting rotation, but Henderson could take his slot on Wednesday (5/7).

Henderson could also replace Jose Quintana, who struggled in his last outing (six runs, eight baserunners, and three home runs over five innings with six strikeouts), but earned more leash by winning his first four starts with the Brewers (1.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts over 23.2 innings).

Another possibility is that Milwaukee pushes back Freddy Peralta a day or two after leaving his last start with a groin issue.

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