Jayson Stark Says It Will Shock Him If Andrew Painter Is Not On Roster
The Phillies are back. They are multiple games into Spring Training. We have seen guys like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and more take at-bats. And we got to see the Sporing training debut of 19-year-old phenom Andrew Painter. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic for the Phillies this season. And to preview what we may see from them this year, Hall of Fame Baseball Writer Jayson Stark joined The Best Show Ever. he discusses his thoughts on the new MLB rules if Andrew Painter will make the opening day roster, and where the Phillies stack up in the NL East. Here is some of what Jayson Stark said.
Ricky Bo asked Jayson Stark straight up if Andrew Painter would make the team out of camp. Stark not only said he thinks he will but that it will shock him if he doesn’t.
It would shock me if he doesn’t break camp with them. When is the last time you planned your day around watching a 19 year guy do anything in professional sports? but I feel like anytime Andrew Painter pitches now, this is what it is going to be. Whatever you are planning to do that day, you should do something else and watch him pitch. Because you need to watch him. Larry Bowa was telling me that he would take Andrew Painter right now over the young Stephen Strasburg. I told him flat out I am not there yet. That doesn’t mean this isn’t much watch stuff. He has great stuff, and great delivery. His command is as excellent as advertised. If he has 4 more starts like this, why wouldn’t he make the roster? It is what they want to happen.
Jayson Stark also talked about how competitive the NL East will be. And said that even if he is taking the Phillies to be 3rd in the NL East, they could make it back to the World Series. And revealed that a poll of 28 executives named the Phillies the most-improved team in the MLB.
You can listen to the full interview with Jayson Stark Below…