Andrew Painter, the Phillies super-prospect and 2024 Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year, made his season debut with the single-A Clearwater Threshers on Friday.
Scheduled to throw a max of 35 pitches or two innings, Painter threw 37 times. He was charged with two runs in 1.1 IP. But the big takeaway is that the Phillies' number one prospect is healthy, averaging 98.2 mph on his four-seam fastball and touching 100 mph three times.
Andrew Painter touches 💯 mph three times and notches three strikeouts in his 2025 debut!
MLB's No. 7 prospect (@Phillies) logs whiffs on nine of 17 swings for the Single-A @Threshers. pic.twitter.com/h00rN0HOqI
Is it insane to analyze every pitch from a minor league baseball appearance? Yes.
Is that exactly what we're going to do? YES.
1) 98.9 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
Throwing gas right out of the gate. Gotta love it.
Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2023. His time in the AFL marked his first competitive innings since his injury. The righthander, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Thursday, posted a 2.30 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 15.2 innings to claim his PoY award.
He picked up right where he left off.
2) 97.3 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
A little jittery, maybe.
3) 98.1 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
In the fall, Painter threw 68 percent of his pitches for strikes but still generated a 31 percent miss rate. This pitch was over the heart of the plate but the batter didn't touch it.
4) 98.6 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
5) 93.3 mph cutter (Foul)
6) 95.2 mph 4-seam fastball (Single)
Lucky hit.
7) 98.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Called strike)
8) 97.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
Starting to cook now.
9) 99.5 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
Originally called a strike, but overturned on replay.
10) 86.0 mph cutter (Ball)
11) 85.4 mph slider (Ball)
The slider is a newer pitch for Painter, but he threw it effectively in the AFL (81 percent strike rate, 48 percent miss rate).
12) 92.5 mph cutter (Swinging strike)
Swing and a miss, he struck 'eeem out.
13) 98.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
14) 99.7 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
HE'S HEATING UP!!
15) 100.2 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
HE'S ON FIRE!!!!! (Nowhere near the plate, but whatever. Triple digits, baby.)
16) 100.0 mph 4-seam fastball (Foul)
17) 85.7 mph slider (Ball)
Just a 15 mph change in speed. How does anyone ever hit a baseball?
18) 100.1 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
Painter's third and final 100 mph pitch of the night.
19) 85.6 mph slider (Swinging strike)
Swiiiiiiing and a miss, he got 'em.
20) 99.1 mph 4-seam fastball (Foul)
21) 98.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Called Strike)
0-2 count. Painter's hallmark in the AFL was his efficiency, when his 13.98 pitches per inning led the league.
22) 87.2 mph slider (Ball)
A little rusty with the slider, maybe.
23) 91.7 mph cutter (Ball)
24) 92.6 mph cutter (Groundout)
Hey, a Weston Wilson cameo!
25) 96.1 mph 4-seam fastball (Foul)
26) 97.5 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
27) 99.5 mph 4-seam fastball (Single)
Another lucky hit.
28) 97.4 mph 4-seam fastball (Called strike)
29) 90.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Swinging strike)
The whiffs are starting to add up.
30) 98.5 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
31) 82.7 mph slider (Swinging strike)
Got him with the slider. Good to see.
32) 81 mph curveball (Called strike)
First pure curveball of the night for our young hero.
33) 98 mph 4-seam fastball (Foul)
Bet that one looked fast to the batter.
34) 92.2 mph cutter (Ball)
35) 84.8 mph slider (Ball)
36) 98.8 mph 4-seam fastball (Ball)
The heat is still there, but the control is getting shaky.
37) 83.6 mph slider (Walk)
Ok, go get him out of there.
The runners Painter put on base eventually scored with Erik Ritchie on the mound, so Painter's final line doesn't exactly sparkle: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 37 pitches (21 strikes).
But Painter took a big step towards the big leagues Friday night. The Phillies expect him to join their major league rotation sometime this summer.
