Andrew Painter shows his potential — and a new pitch — in Phillies camp

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A few days ago, J.T. Realmuto crouched down behind a plate at the Phillies’ spring training complex and lifted up his mitt. It was the catcher’s first bullpen session with Andrew Painter, the 19-year-old, 6-foot-7 pitching phenom, and Realmuto was expecting four pitches to come his way. Painter stepped onto the mound and threw his fastball — one — his slider — two — his curveball — three — and his changeup — four, but then he added something Realmuto wasn’t expecting.

Halfway through the bullpen session, a cutter came whizzing out of Painter’s right hand. It was smaller and tighter than his other offerings. It reminded Realmuto of Zack Wheeler’s cutter, a deceptive pitch that nabbed the corners of the strike zone, one that was often confused with his slider.

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Realmuto began thinking of how Painter could use his new pitch. He could throw his cutter to lefties, up and in, on their hands. He could throw it to righties, down and away, to get some swing and chase. It was just another weapon for a young pitcher who already has plenty of them.

If all goes to plan, Painter could be the first teenager to pitch for the Phillies since 1980. He has ascended quickly, and, because of that, much of what he’s experienced over the past few weeks and months has felt unfamiliar. Reporting to big-league camp is new. Hearing his name alongside other young phenoms like Josh Beckett’s and Rick Porcello’s is new. Competing for a spot in a big-league rotation is new. And adding a fifth pitch to his arsenal is definitely new.

Painter has thrown the same four pitches since high school. He doesn’t know how long it will take him to feel comfortable throwing his cutter because he hasn’t developed a pitch since he started throwing those first four. Regardless, the righty feels that it could elevate his game at some point soon.

He began working on his cutter a few months ago. Painter struggled to throw his slider to lefties in 2022, so Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham and a few trainers at Cressey Sports Performance suggested adding something new.

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“We wanted a pitch that’s a little smaller,” Painter said. “The slider is kind of sweep-y. It’s a good pitch, but it was kind of hard to throw back foot to lefties, so we wanted something that was a little sharper, a little harder, that I could throw into a lefty.”

The cutter is still in its early phases, but the returns have been promising so far. Painter threw a few more to Realmuto in a bullpen session on Thursday afternoon. Standing in front of a horde of scouts, baseball operations officials, and coaches, Painter, the guy who cannot rent a car or a buy a drink, looked like he belonged.

He didn’t try to blow everyone away. He didn’t try to do too much. He just calmly threw his pitches, all five of them, while making sure they came out of the same arm slot.

“You would never guess he’s 19,” Realmuto said. “It’s wild to even think about. It makes me feel old. You wouldn’t know he was 19 if you didn’t know it.”

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Thursday marked the first day of Phillies spring training. Painter has plenty of time to tinker. He wants to watch Wheeler’s bullpens and pay close attention to how he grips his cutter. He wants to work on locating his offspeed pitches, too. He wants to listen, observe, learn, and he wants to stay busy. When you’re a 19-year-old pitching phenom, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of what could be. But in that sense, Painter is wise beyond his years.

“A lot of young guys in his situation bring attention on themselves,” Realmuto said, “but not Painter. He’s acting like he’s been here for five years. He doesn’t make a big deal of himself. And that’s hard to do for a young kid.”