Andrew Painter delivers two innings of hope and promise in spring debut

Andrew Painter delivers two innings of hope and promise in spring debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Three years to the day after his first Grapefruit League start, Andrew Painter made his second Sunday.

Finally.

In between the two outings, there has been an elbow injury, surgery, months of physical rehabilitation, and a difficult comeback season last year at Triple-A for the most hyped Phillies pitching prospect since Cole Hamels.

That’s all in the past now, all learning experience, if you will. Painter, still just 22, has made a minor adjustment in his delivery. His early-camp bullpen work has drawn raves from coaches and catchers. And his first start of the spring was impressive – two perfect innings against the New York Yankees in front of a packed house at sun-splashed BayCare Ballpark.

“I thought he was great,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Very encouraging. He got ahead in the count. He attacked.”

J.T. Realmuto, the man who caught Painter, was equally impressed.

“He was really good,” Realmuto said. “He really pounded the strike zone. A lot of early, weak contact, which is good. I was impressed with his fastball. He beat a lot of really good fastball hitters in the zone with his fastball so that’s always a good sign.

“I’ve caught him in some ‘pens, and this was the first time live. Every time, the command has been really good. He’s able to work both sides of the plate and go up and down. That’s something that most of our starters do a good job with and that’s why they’re so successful. Being able to see him do that is important.”

Command and control were issues for Painter at Triple A-last season. In 22 starts and 106 2/3 innings, he allowed 10 hits/3.9 walks per nine innings. He pitched to a 5.40 ERA. His projected “July-ish” arrival in Philadelphia never materialized. This year, it will happen. The Phillies are committed to giving him a shot in the season-opening rotation.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Painter admitted. “I’m still trying to take it one day at a time and look forward to each start.”

Last season, Painter’s arm angle dropped slightly. He addressed the issue in the offseason and has continued to do so in camp. The team’s pitching coaches believe a return to his former (higher) arm angle will bring back his control and command.

So far, so good.

“I think it was going to come naturally anyway,” Painter said. “But I think getting back to those positions has definitely helped.

“This offseason as a whole, even going back to early January, I’ve had a little more attention to detail in catch play and a little more intentionality with the target, whether it’s catch play, bullpen, flat ground, whatever.”

Painter did not face the Yankees’ A lineup Sunday, but he was extremely efficient, nonetheless. He threw just 20 pitches in his two innings of work, 14 of which were strikes. His outs came so quickly, he was not able to work as much on his changeup as he would have liked, but the spring is still young. He threw six different pitches, but mostly relied on his four-seam fastball, which he threw 13 times. It topped out at 97 mph.

“I felt pretty comfortable out there,” Painter said. “Right when I toed the rubber, I felt in control of the game. It didn’t speed up on me. That’s the big thing, just take deep breaths and not allow the game to speed up on you.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone had never seen Painter before, but Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan, who made the trip to Clearwater, had.

“I know there’s been some inconsistency there,” Boone said. “But (Duncan) is like, ‘When he’s good …’ 

“Today got my attention.”

Painter used four different pitches – curveball, four-seamer, changeup and slider — in striking out Jasson Domínguez to end the top of the first inning. The final slider was up a little in the zone, but Domínguez could not get that bat on it.

“It caught too much plate, but it was a really sharp slider and that’s why you get the swing and miss on a pitch you think location-wise might get hit,” Realmuto said. “That’s just his ability to mix pitches. That was the first slider (Domínguez) saw that at-bat. He saw three or four different types of pitches there. So, the fact he can already do that at this age to a lefty hitter is pretty impressive.”

Realmuto is eager to work more with Painter. He has been for a while, but the elbow injury, the Tommy John surgery, and the struggles of 2025 got in the way.

The path is clearing now.

“He’s very mature for his age,” Realmuto said. “His demeanor is something I really look forward to working with.

“He doesn’t have to come in and light the world on fire, which I know the Philly media at times, or even just the fan base, that’s what they expect. This game is really hard. 

“We’re not asking him to come in and be our ace and win the Cy Young, not that he can’t do that. But in this clubhouse, those are not our expectations. We just need him to take the ball every five days and be himself.”

Painter’s next chance to be himself will come on Saturday when he faces the Red Sox in Clearwater.