ANDREW PAINTER: DOMINATING THROUGH THE MINORS
When the Philadelphia Phillies selected Andrew Painter out of Calvary Christian Academy with the 13th pick in the 2021 draft there was a lot for fans to be excited about. A huge frame standing at 6’8, great command of a fastball that sits anywhere from 95-98 mph, and has a great curveball and slider grading out at 55 and 50, he has also spent time working on a changeup which if honed correctly can give him a deadly 4 pitch combo all before the age of 20. Despite the high hopes from Phillies fans, Painter has still greatly exceeded even what the most optimistic fans could have expected up to this point. And if you need any proof of these tools being put to use, then you need look no further than his last start against the Hartford Yard Goats in which he tossed a career-high 7 innings to go along with 8 strikeouts while only allowing 1 run. But throughout his Minor league career up to this point, starts like this have become business as usual for Painter as he continues to make light work of the competition even as he traverses higher and higher through the Phillies farm system.
The first glimpses of Andrew Painters’ dominance were put on display during just his 3rd start for the Single-A Clearwater affiliate for the Phillies in which he struck out 13 straight batters in a 5-inning effort to finish the day with 14 in total. But for Painter, this would just become one of many dazzling starts that has helped shoot himself up the Phillies prospect list and establish himself as one of the better right-handed pitching projects in the minor leagues.
He started this year with the single A affiliate in Clearwater and showed very quickly that he was a step above the competition tallying 69 strikeouts in just 38 innings, he paired this with an ERA of 1.40 and a WHIP under 1 at .853. With numbers like these it didn’t long for Phillies scouts to take notice and so on June 12, after only a month with Clearwater, he was promoted to the A+ team in Jersey Shore and from there he picked up right where he left off tossing 36 innings to the tune of 49 strikeouts. And while his K rate did take a slight hit he continued to flash his excellence by boasting a 0.98 ERA along with a ridiculous WHIP at 0.87.
From there the Phillies quickly realized that he once again needed a promotion and on August 21st that’s exactly what happened as he was promoted to the AA affiliate in Reading where he is currently pitching. And despite another increase in competition, Painter seemingly refuses to slow down as through 24 innings he has a record of 2-0, an ERA at 1.11, and a WHIP at 0.82, He also has 32 Ks up to this point and has only allowed 2 walks to give him an absurd K/BB ratio of 16.00. Now let’s take a look at what all these stats look like when put together. So far through 105.2 innings in the minors, Painter has an ERA of 1.11, a WHIP at 0.84, and a K/9 of 13.80 to give him 162K’s in total. Another key stat to Painter’s success so far has been the fact that he just simply doesn’t allow baserunners, as up to this point opponents are only batting .172 against him while allowing 2.13 walks per 9 innings.
So what does all this mean for him?
While it’s still way too early to project what kind of career Painter will have seeing as he is still only 19 years old. When looking at his frame and watching him pitch, it’s clear as to why so many Phillie fans are so excited for this kid. The statists jump off the page and are made even more impressive when you realize that he is about 3 years younger than his teammates and the rest of the competition, showing that he has the ability to dominate players older and more experienced than him. Painter is the most anticipated pitching prospect the Phillies have had since Aaron Nola and for a Phillies rotation that has dealt with its fair share of injuries so far, the emergence of someone like Andrew Painter could be the infusion of youth this team needs to give them the dept to make a serious playoff push.
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