Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter, arguably the highest pitching prospect in all of baseball, reported feeling “tenderness” in his elbow and has been despatched for testing, supervisor Rob Thomson introduced to reporters Friday (link via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). The skipper didn’t present additional specifics on the kind of assessments being carried out or the group’s degree of concern. Extra info is anticipated to be supplied tomorrow.
Simply 19 years previous, Painter was the No. 13 general decide within the 2021 draft and has soared via the Phillies’ system to the cusp of MLB readiness in lower than two years’ time. He pitched throughout three ranges in 2022 — Class-A, Class-A Superior and Double-A — working to a mixed 1.56 ERA with a large 38.7% strikeout price, a robust 6.2% stroll price and a tiny 0.43 HR/9 mark via 103 2/3 frames. Each Baseball America and MLB.com rank Painter as the sport’s finest pitching prospect and one of many prime six general prospects within the sport.
Regardless of his youth and lack of Triple-A seasoning, Painter was vying for a spot within the Phillies’ Opening Day rotation. Philadelphia at present has Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and offseason signee Taijuan Walker locked into spots, however Painter has been competing with Bailey Falter (amongst others) for the fifth and last place in Thomson’s rotation. He simply made his Grapefruit League debut earlier within the week, tossing a pair of innings in opposition to the Twins and permitting a run on three hits and no walks with one strikeout. Painter tossed 29 pitches in that outing, commonly hitting 99 mph together with his heater.
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There’s little sense in speculating as to what kind of harm, if any, Painter could also be battling. The Phillies are involved sufficient to ship him for testing of some extent, which is trigger for apparent trepidation among the many fan base. Then once more, it must be emphasised that it behooves the Phillies to proceed with as a lot warning as attainable, given Painter’s upside and long-term worth to the membership. So far, there’s no indication that the group expects a critical harm to be at play.
If Painter have been to overlook time, be it a quick shutdown in camp or a keep on the injured record as soon as the season is underway, Falter’s grip on the ultimate rotation spot would possible tighten. The 25-year-old appeared in 20 video games with the Phils final 12 months, 16 of them begins, and pitched to a stable 3.86 ERA via 84 frames. Falter’s 21.2% strikeout price was a bit beneath common, however his 4.9% stroll price was among the many finest in baseball — tied for Twentieth-best among the many 159 pitchers who tossed a minimum of 80 innings.
