Feb 23, 2023; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (76) during photo day at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports Nathan Ray Seebeck
CLEARWATER — At some point this spring, No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter is going to have to inform Phillies fans whether he prefers his given name or the shortened Andy. That may be the most interesting thing Painter does during Spring Training, but it will be very relevant in a few months time.
Two years after he appeared to have a real shot to make the club as a 19-year-old — only for an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery to halt his ascension — Painter is once again preparing to make his Major League Debut.
The Phillies don't plan for him to pitch in Grapefruit League action, but the presence of the 6-foot-7 right-hander will still loom over Spring Training. Everyone, including president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, is eager to see Painter pitch this season.
"Well, I’m very excited. I think he is one of the best young pitchers in baseball," Dombrowski said. "Think he’s going to be a tremendous Major League pitcher. Now when I say that, I don’t worry about him hearing that and then not working hard. He works extremely hard. We just have to be careful with him this year.
"He's gonna be able to pitch some innings, but I’m extremely excited to have him getting closer to pitching at the Major League level, and I think he has the chance to be an exceptional pitcher at the big league level. He has the potential to be a No. 1, top-of-the-rotation type starter. Now maybe he wouldn’t be ours right off the bat. We’ve got some pretty good ones, but he has that type of potential for the long term."
Jesús Luzardo and Andrew Painter pic.twitter.com/A03BOoCpb5
The Phillies continue to target a summer debut for Painter, with Dombrowski saying "July-ish" but adding "I don't know if that means June or it means August."
Obviously, this will all depend on Painter continuing to progress physically. But he had his Tommy John surgery in July of 2023, so he should be past any lingering affects of the procedure. He certainly appeared to be in the Arizona Fall League, when he posted a 2.30 ERA and struck out 18 batters over 15 2/3 innings.
The other reality for the Phillies when Painter is ready will be whether there's a spot for him in the starting rotation. As of now, the unit of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo looks like one of the best starting rotations in baseball. What happens if all five of them are healthy and pitching well when July rolls around? That would be a good problem to have, and people in baseball generally don't worry about future problems because something often happens in the interim that renders the concern moot.
As for what Painter will be doing during the spring, specifics were sparse.
"I don’t even have an exact number of pitches, but we have a plan for him," Dombrowski said. "He’ll throw. He threw on the side the other day. He didn’t throw as many pitches as some of the other guys did. He’ll be throwing on a regular basis, and probably every three days on the side for now. I’m sure he’ll throw to hitters at some point. Then as we get close to the end of Spring Training, he’ll be amping up where he’ll start being able to pitch some innings in extended spring as we go forward."
One thing that Dombrowski did make clear is that all their decisions with Painter will be made based primarily off of the advice of the medical professionals, such as head trainer Paul Buchheit, team physician Steven Cohen and Neal ElAttrache, who performed the aforementioned Tommy John surgery. The team recognizes how important it is both for their present and future to keep Painter healthy.
But there's definitely a kid-the-night-before-Christmas level excitement surrounding Painter's likely MLB Debut in 2025. The Phillies are prepared to be patient for a little while longer, because they believe the payoff from the 21-year-old will be tremendous.
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