This exciting Philadelphia Phillies pitcher has sent a strong message heading into the offseason.
The Philadelphia Phillies will definitely need to adjust their pitching staff this offseason. Zack Wheeler is recovering from a blood clot, Ranger Suarez looks to be a goner in free agency and Taijuan Walker is on the open market, as well.
But will the Phillies splurge on someone like Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease? Will they pursue a trade for Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta? Will they try and sign a veteran like Chris Bassitt?
Or will they look internally?
Both things are possible, I guess, but in terms of the latter, Philadelphia definitely has a strong young arm in its system that could see some time in the big leagues next season: Andrew Painter.
The top-ranked prospect in the Phillies' organization, Painter was also ranked ninth in all of baseball by Baseball America heading into 2025.
And with an opportunity to potentially crack the starting rotation next spring, the 6-foot-7 hurler is saying all of the right things.
“It wasn’t, ‘I have to make the big-league rotation,’” director of pitching development Travis Hergert said, via Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic. “It’s, ‘I need to do this, this and this.’ And, if he takes care of that, then things will work out.”
Painter actually labored considerably in Triple-A this past season, going 5-6 with a 5.40 ERA while allowing 119 hits and 18 home runs over 106.2 innings of work. He also averaged career-low 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Perhaps the 22-year-old was just getting accustomed to a higher level of ball, but there is no doubt that Painter's 2025 struggles were a bit concerning.
However, Painter's ceiling is undeniable. A former No. 13 overall pick of Philadelphia in 2021, the right-hander has posted a 3.44 ERA while averaging 11.5 punchouts per nine innings since initially joining the Phillies' minor-league system.
With Philadelphia in need of a youth injection, Painter could be a major solution in 2026, but it seem a bit hard to imagine the Phillies installing him into the opening day rotation next spring based on how he performed in the minors this past year.
At some point next season, though, it would not be the least bit surprising to see Painter on the big-league roster.