Phillies have a worrisome Andrew Painter fastball problem

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Phillies have a worrisome Andrew Painter fastball problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a bit of a rough season so far, and while the Don Mattingly era has gone much better than how it began with Rob Thomson, there is still plenty to be worried about.

For Philadelphia, there are a few areas of concern still with the team, one of which is Alec Bohm's struggles at the plate, but the most recent is Andrew Painter's latest blowup start against the Athletics.

As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com highlighted, Painter isn't simply getting unlucky; there is a real problem, and it has to do with his fastball.

Phillies have an Andrew Painter fastball problem​

"Painter's fastballs average a combined 96.2 mph, which is almost 2 mph faster than the league average (94.3 mph)," Zolecki writes. "But they have generated only 15 whiffs out of 160 swings, including just three of 23 on Thursday. The 9.4% whiff rate ranks 118th out of 124 pitchers (minimum 100 swings)."

The Phillies righty is struggling a bit this season, and his fastball is one of the main reasons why. His fastball is a core component of his game, and it's not working.

This season, Painter is 1-4 with a 6.89 ERA with 30 strikeouts and one of the worst fastballs in the Majors.

He's 23 years old, and this most recent outing, where he allowed eight runs in 3.2 innings of work, was about as bad as it's gotten.

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The reason why his fastball isn't as good as it should be is that the movement on the pitch isn't nearly enough to fool hitters.

Zolecki shared how Painter's four-seam fastball has "-0.7 inches less vertical break and -3.2 inches less horizontal break, while his sinker averages -4.0 inches less vertical break and -2.6 inches less horizontal break."

The Phillies' young righty isn't pitching as well as fans or the team were hoping for, and his fastball is a huge reason why.

This is a very worrisome issue, as if Painter's fastball can't get by hitters, then he will continue to struggle this season and for the rest of his career.

Hopefully, Painter can figure out this issue with his fastball. Otherwise, it's going to be a very long and arduous season.

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