Evaluating Andrew Painter After MLB Debut
A restless crowd at Citizens Bank Park finally saw what they paid for. Andrew Painter dominated in his MLB debut while the Philadelphia Phillies evened their home series against the…
A restless crowd at Citizens Bank Park finally saw what they paid for.
Andrew Painter dominated in his MLB debut while the Philadelphia Phillies evened their home series against the Washington Nationals with a 3-2 victory. The rookie threw 5⅓ innings, allowing one run off four hits. He emphatically struck out eight Nationals hitters and walked only one.
The Philadelphia faithful rose to their feet as Painter left the mound in the sixth inning and tipped his cap with the hopes for a bright future in the major leagues.
Andrew Painter in MLB Debut
The former top prospect came out of the gates with a strong fastball. He rode the adrenaline to reach as high as 98.7 miles per hour and retire the Nationals in order in the first inning.
Painter allowed two singles to begin the second in his only jam of the evening. However, he started dealing his swing-and-miss stuff in the top of the third. The 6-foot-7 hurler struck out two Washington hitters in the third, two more in the fourth, and all three he faced in the fifth.
Painter mixed pitches well. He leaned on his fastball early in counts. While the velocity overwhelmed some Nationals, he also threw his slider to get ahead of hitters. The rookie leaned on a devastating curveball later in counts, both high and low in the zone. He landed the curve for a remarkable seven called strikes.
“He’s got great poise. He knows how to pitch… He changed speeds behind in the count. He kept people off balance. Then, he’s got the power fastball to go with it.”
-Rob Thomson
The towering right-hander also mixed in an effective changeup for a few of his best pitches of the evening.
Luis Garcia Jr. took the changeup at the bottom of the zone for strike three and the final out of third inning. He doubled down with an ABS challenge and lost the option for his club on their second unsuccessful try.
Jorbit Vivas then watched a changeup pass low in the zone for the second out in the fourth inning. Nasim Nuñez helplessly fanned at the offspeed pitch low and away in the fifth. Painter showed glimpses of domination with all four of his main pitches.
Rob Thomson sent Painter to the mound to begin the sixth, but he quickly hooked the righty after a one-out single by CJ Abrams.
Painter's Future in Starting Rotation
Painter will take the mound at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants on April 6. Thomson told the Philadelphia media he doesn’t plan on easing Painter into the big leagues with any particular restrictions that some MLB organizations have used with top pitching prospects.
“As long as all those measurements line up – the extension, the arm angle, the velocity, the spin rate – if those things all line up, I trust those measurements and he’s good to go.”
-Rob Thomson
After his MLB debut, Painter spoke with maturity about his focus on physical recovery for the next trip through the rotation. He's followed the lead of teammate Jesus Luzardo in conditioning methods.
J.T. Realmuto also commented on the maturity that he noticed from a 22-year-old making his first major league start. The veteran catcher expects Painter to restock the outstanding recent success of the starting rotation under pitching coach Caleb Cotham.
“I think that’s something that we do really well as an organization is teach guys to prepare and get ready. I had conversations with Painter yesterday and today that were pretty impressive, just his knowledge of their lineup over there and guys he hadn’t even faced before. He had watched video. He had some ideas of how he wanted to work counts. That’s really impressive (for) a kid that age.”
-J.T. Realmuto
Veteran Taijuan Walker began the season in the fourth spot of the starting rotation ahead of Painter. Zack Wheeler will also rejoin the starting Phillies as soon as mid-April.
A strong MLB debut only solidifies an already convincing case for Andrew Painter to stay in the rotation alongside Wheeler, especially after Walker allowed seven runs and 10 hits in the series opener against the Nationals.
“We’ve been waiting for a while for this, and so have our players. Whether it’s Painter or (Justin) Crawford, when those young guys come up, there’s a lot of excitement. Guys root for them because they remember their first appearance or game in big leagues. They’re very excited for them, and it brings some energy to the club.”
-Rob Thomson
All stats courtesy of Stat Cast, Baseball Reference, and FanGraphs.
Photo by Colin Newby | BBGI Philadelphia
