The Arizona Fall League (AFL) has given us many exciting matchups. Naturally, there are some excellent prospects in the fall circuit, and some of them belong to the Philadelphia Phillies. Perhaps the most notable of them is Andrew Painter, the former first-round pick who hasn’t thrown a minor league pitch since 2022 due to elbow issues that resulted in Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2023.
Andrew Painter is a top prospect
Painter has always been a top prospect, and the injury didn’t change that — it just delayed his timeline a bit for the Phillies and the world to see. We had known since February that he wasn’t going to pitch in minor league games this year, but after a successful rehab, he was given an exciting assignment, for him and for fans eager to watch him pitch: the AFL.
It was a resounding success. The Phillies young righty struck out 18 hitters and walked just four in 15.2 innings, with a 2.30 ERA. He routinely sat in the high 90s and touched 100 mph on occasion, meaning his pre-injury velocity is all the way back.
Opposing hitters were amazed by the Phillies’ young star
Opposing hitters were in awe of Painter. Chase DeLauter, a consensus top 100 prospect in the MLB and a future star with the Cleveland Guardians, praised the Phillies’ young fireballer and called him one of the toughest pitchers he has ever had to face.
“He’s definitely a top-notch arm. I mean, he’s one of the best pitchers I’ve probably seen up to this point, elite stuff. There’s a lot of strikes with anything he’s got, so those at-bats are really fun,” DeLauter, who also has had an amazing AFL stint, said per Phils Tailgate.
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2025 will probably be the year in which we see these two studs making their MLB debut and establishing themselves as legitimate contributors. In the specific case of Painter, he has what it takes to challenge for a rotation spot and make the roster out of camp, but the Phillies likely won’t force anything.
Remember this is a guy who posted a 2.54 ERA in 28.1 Double-A frames in 2022, his last bit of professional action before the injury. He walked just two and struck out 37 in a dominant showing in the high minors. If Painter remains healthy, the Phillies might have found another ace-type hurler for their rotation.
