Andrew Painter worked through some command issues in his second Spring Training start with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Andrew Painter gave the Philadelphia Phillies plenty of reasons to be excited and encouraged about his potential and ability to impact the rotation right out of the gate following his Spring Training debut against the New York Yankees.
In that outing, it was his command that stole the show, with 70 percent of Painter’s pitches logging for strikes.
However, the 22-year-old faced some adversity in his second Grapefruit League outing that your best stuff isn’t always going to be there, and adjustments will be necessary. On Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, Painter struggled with his command and efficiency.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today; four-pitch walk to start [the game], kind of go in the hole,” said Painter after the outing.
Painter was also having a tough time getting Blue Jays hitters to bite at anything, only generating three swings and misses.
Mar 1, 2026; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Andrew Painter (76) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the second inning during spring training at BayCare Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesDespite the prospect’s struggles to find the zone, he didn’t let that spiral throughout his start and was able to limit the damage because of it. Painter, only you allowed two base runners: a game-opening walk and a base hit. He didn’t allow any runs.
A pitcher isn’t always going to have their A-stuff when on the mound, and learning to work through that is all part of Painter’s development. To his credit, he did a solid job of that on Saturday, not just gameplan-wise, but mentally, too.
“Gotta go out there, compete, how to get yourself out of it,” continued Painter. “I think anytime you throw zero out there, you can't complain about it. You can go back and kind of look at some things that you might want to tweak or adjust moving forward, but can't complain.”
Painter did think some of his pitches felt good, but knows there’s still work to be done, saying. “I made some good pitches. I thought spin was good today. I would love to get the change up going a little bit, but you gotta kind of take what you're given that day and work with it.
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