Phillies prospect Andrew Painter strikes out six in final AFL start: ‘I feel good moving forward’

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Top Phillies pitching prospect Andrew Painter completed the next step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery on Tuesday when he made his sixth and final start in the Arizona Fall League. Pitching for the Glendale Desert Dogs, he allowed one run on two hits and two walks and struck out six in 2⅔ innings against the Surprise Saguaros.

The 21-year-old right-hander threw 53 pitches, 33 of which were strikes. Painter threw 28 fastballs, 16 sliders, seven curveballs, and two changeups. He averaged 95.8 mph on his fastball, topping out at 98.9 mph.

“[I feel] pretty good,” Painter said. “Fastball command toward the end of the season [was] a little shaky, but that’s all part of it. … I would have liked to get through three [innings], obviously, but the pitch count was up. [I] would have liked to get through three, but [I] walked out healthy, and that’s all you could ask for.”

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Painter missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow during spring training in 2023. He underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2023. He has been rehabbing in the Arizona Fall League for the last five weeks.

Painter pitched three innings in his previous three starts. The Phillies had him toss two innings in each of his first two starts in the fall league, before upping his workload to three innings. He had a hard pitch count in each start, and the number was not disclosed to the media.

Across six starts and 15⅔ innings, Painter posted a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 18 strikeouts. He ranks second in the AFL in ERA and first in WHIP. Painter is a prime candidate to win the league’s pitcher of the year award, which will be announced at Saturday’s AFL championship game. Painter did not report any setbacks and is pleased with how his time in the fall league went.

“I thought it was good,” Painter said. “I’d say coming in here, I just wanted to compete and get a feel for my stuff, feel confident going into 2025, and walk out healthy. I’m just thinking about the offseason now and getting ready to go into that. Getting into a game and a competitive atmosphere, you have to make adjustments, and you don’t have time to plot everything out. You kind of just have to go.”

Painter ran into trouble in the first inning, when he allowed the first three Saguaros to reach base. Walks to leadoff man Alejandro Osuna and Carter Jensen sandwiched a single by Cleveland Guardians prospect Chase DeLauter, which loaded the bases for Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft.

Painter, however, limited the damage. He allowed a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Caglianone before striking out Max Acosta (Texas Rangers) and Douglas Hodo (Baltimore Orioles).

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Caglianone’s sacrifice fly was the first run Painter had surrendered in his previous 11 innings.

Painter struck out the side in the second inning. His day was cut short in the third inning when he reached his pitch-count limit with a runner on first base and two outs and Caglianone due up.

With the AFL in the books, Painter is not sure what’s next for him before spring training in February.

“I don’t know yet,” Painter said. “We haven’t been over that. They want to get me out of here after finishing what I had to do out here and now turn that next page and figure it out. I feel good. Moving into 2025, I [got my] feet wet and [got to] compete in a competitive atmosphere. I feel good moving forward.”