Philadelphia Phillies Top Prospect Hits Personal Milestone as Trade Rumors Swirl

As trade rumors swirl, Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter hit an important milestone in his return from Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

Painter, who is the No. 8 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, topped the 100 pitch mark for the first time in his professional career. Currently playing with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he went 6.1 innings, giving up seven hits and two walks. He gave up just one run and struck out four.

Sixty-five of his 103 pitches were for strikes.

MLB's No. 8 prospect Andrew Painter (@Phillies) exceeds 100 pitches for the first time in his career as he spins a quality start for the @IronPigs:
6.1 IP
7 H
1 R
2 BB
4K
103 pitches; 65 strikes pic.twitter.com/DgRsmIa5qZ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 30, 2025

Just 22-years-old, Painter is 3-5 with a 4.68 ERA this season. He's made 17 appearances across multiple levels, striking out 75 batters in 73.0 innings. Given that he missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the Phillies will be undoubtedly careful with him. Should he remain in the organization beyond Thursday's trade deadline, he could be in line for a (monitored) promotion to the big leagues. He could start, or he could serve as a bullpen option in order to limit his workload.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Wednesday afternoon that the Phillies are interested in acquiring Twins' closer Jhoan Duran. If they were to do that, Painter has been the asking price in a deal.

The Minnesota Twins are expected to trade closer Jhoan Duran by the end of the day with the Los Angeles Dodgers in strong pursuit.
The Twins have also been in heavy discussions with the Phillies but have not lowered their asking price of prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 30, 2025

The Phillies enter play at 61-46 and just 0.5 games back in the National League East. They haven't made the World Series since 2022 and haven't won the World Series since 2008, so there is real urgency on the organization's part to get back to the Fall Classic.

The trade deadline is Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.

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