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Andrew Painter made his long-awaited Triple-A debut Thursday night, and the Phillies' top prospect was challenged right away. His first batter was none other than Roman Anthony - the top rated prospect across all MLB farm systems.
But the upcoming hitter didn't hit anything except for air.
Painter set Anthony down handily on four pitches, the first of five strikeouts he threw in three shutout innings. While he did get himself into trouble by walking the bases loaded in the third, Painter got out of the inning with a pop-out. He only allowed one hit, a single, in the appearance.
More impressively, all five of his strikeouts came via the curveball, not his signature fastball.
Overall, Painter threw 34 of 60 pitches for strikes (eight swing-and-misses) and held his own against some of the top Boston Red Sox minor leaguers. His fastball maxed out at 98 mph and averaged closer to 96.
Andrew Painter took a massive leap from his months-long rehab in Clearwater on Thursday. His next test is building consistency against Triple-A hitters.Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
The command issue and resulting high pitch count are a slight concern, but overall, it was another positive performance from Painter, who continues to regain his form after missing two years for Tommy John recovery. His next goal will likely be to go four full innings - which was a benchmark for tonight if he didn't hit the 60-65 pitch threshold first.
At just 22 years old, Painter is someone the Phillies are being very, very careful with. At the same time, if the next two months show that he's ready for the show, President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski and GM Prestin Mattingly have both stated that he could be recalled as soon as July.
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But the upcoming hitter didn't hit anything except for air.
Painter set Anthony down handily on four pitches, the first of five strikeouts he threw in three shutout innings. While he did get himself into trouble by walking the bases loaded in the third, Painter got out of the inning with a pop-out. He only allowed one hit, a single, in the appearance.
More impressively, all five of his strikeouts came via the curveball, not his signature fastball.
Overall, Painter threw 34 of 60 pitches for strikes (eight swing-and-misses) and held his own against some of the top Boston Red Sox minor leaguers. His fastball maxed out at 98 mph and averaged closer to 96.
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Andrew Painter took a massive leap from his months-long rehab in Clearwater on Thursday. His next test is building consistency against Triple-A hitters.Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
The command issue and resulting high pitch count are a slight concern, but overall, it was another positive performance from Painter, who continues to regain his form after missing two years for Tommy John recovery. His next goal will likely be to go four full innings - which was a benchmark for tonight if he didn't hit the 60-65 pitch threshold first.
At just 22 years old, Painter is someone the Phillies are being very, very careful with. At the same time, if the next two months show that he's ready for the show, President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski and GM Prestin Mattingly have both stated that he could be recalled as soon as July.
Continue reading...
