Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter has a ‘tender’ right elbow, undergoes tests

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Pitching phenom Andrew Painter has a sore elbow, and the Phillies are holding their breath.

Two days after making his ballyhooed spring-training debut, Painter told the team that his right elbow felt “a little tender,” manager Rob Thomson said Friday. Rather than going through his between-starts workday, the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball left BayCare Ballpark and went for tests. He didn’t return before the end of the Phillies’ 6-3 exhibition loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Thomson declined to expound on the type of testing that was being done but said the Phillies were awaiting the results.

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”We’ll have more information [Saturday] on it,” Thomson said. “That’s all I can say right now.”

Painter, a 19-year-old right-hander, is competing for the final spot in the starting rotation — and may even be the front-runner for the job. If he’s unable to begin the season on time, lefty Bailey Falter would be the primary fifth-starter candidate.

In his first spring training start, Painter allowed one run in two innings and threw 29 pitches Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers, Fla. Thomson remarked after that game that Painter threw a first-pitch fastball to all eight batters.

Painter threw 19 heaters against the Twins, topping out at 99 mph with back-to-back pitches against star slugger Carlos Correa. He didn’t throw any curveballs or changeups but mixed in a cutter that he only recently picked up.

“Maybe we threw too many fastballs, but he has a good fastball,” pitching coach Caleb Cotham said Friday before Thomson divulged Painter’s elbow soreness. “It was just him being him. We’re not doing a whole lot of game planning. It’s more just, ‘Go out and do what you do.’ You always could say, ‘Hey, we should’ve done this or that.’ But it was pretty good. He’s as advertised. And he’ll get better.”

Asked directly if Painter came out of his first start without issues, Cotham answered, “Yeah.” But he did note that the Phillies planned to use days off March 8 and 13 to space out Painter’s starts.

It’s clear now that any alteration of Painter’s schedule may involve more than merely days off.

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Painter has impressed his older teammates throughout camp with his talent and his maturity.

“He’s got a live fastball. It’s easy,” veteran starter Taijuan Walker said. “And for him to be only 19 years old, too, it’s very impressive the way he carries himself, the way he goes about his business. He’s going to be really special.”

Painter is trying to be the first 19-year-old to break camp with the Phillies since Larry Christenson in 1973. If he makes a start before his birthday, April 10, he would be the first teenage pitcher to start a game for the team since Mark Davis in 1980.

For now, though, the Phillies are hoping simply for positive news on the condition of Painter’s elbow.