Philadelphia Phillies top pitching prospect Andrew Painter has high expectations for his career. He has still yet to make his MLB debut, but he is anticipated to contribute significantly to a team that has title aspirations at some point.
Phillies’ Andrew Painter gets compared to Gerrit Cole
The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher is coming off of Tommy John surgery but has the makings of being a potential ace for the Phillies one day. His expectations are so high, that baseball writer Jayson Stark took the extra mile to compare to a former Cy Young Award winner.
“This guy’s gonna be [Yankees ace] Gerrit Cole, honestly,” Stark said (h/t NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dan Roche). I just wonder about how patient the Phillies can be about getting him to the big leagues if they have any injuries early in the rotation.”
Giving him a comparison to Cole is as lofty as an expectation can be. However, Painter’s potential is real, and the Phillies are hopeful that he lives up to the hype has brought as a top prospect.
Painter has the potential to be an ace in a loaded Phillies rotation
In his last full season in the minor leagues in 2022, Painter was quickly flying through the system and threw a 1.56 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched. He has the tools to become a top pitcher in the sport and given that he is still just 21 years old, the sky is the limit for Painter.
As he continues to ramp himself back up from Tommy John surgery, Painter could quickly find himself in the thick of a deep Phillies rotation that includes Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. Philadelphia added a key arm to their rotation this year by trading for Jesus Luzardo, and Painter could give them one of the deepest rotations in baseball.
The expectations are big for both the Phillies and Painter this year. The young right-hander has the potential to make some serious noise within the organization this year and beyond.