Phillies prospects update: Offseason plan for Andrew Painter; Griff McGarry still a starter

Some of the Phillies’ top prospects have been at Citizens Bank Park over the past few days as a part of the team’s “PDP prospect program.” The idea is to make the transition to the big leagues as seamless as possible. The prospects are shown housing in the area, get to know the team and its staff, are given media training, and are even shown where to park at the ballpark.

It underscores how close some of these prospects are to contributing to the big-league club. For Andrew Painter, who is just 19 years old but has been skyrocketed through the Phillies’ minor league system, the big leagues never seemed very far away.

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Painter, a first-round pick in 2021, was recently named the Phillies’ Paul Owens Award winner, which the team presents to the organization’s top minor league pitcher. He’s jumped three levels in his first season in the Phillies’ system — from single-A Clearwater to high-A Jersey Shore to double-A Reading — and has a 1.48 ERA with 155 strikeouts in 109⅔ innings.

It’s an impressive season, especially for a player as young as Painter. Like they do with all of their players, the Phillies gave Painter a few things to work on during the offseason. Phillies farm director Preston Mattingly mentioned command, the development of Painter’s changeup, and the separation of his breaking balls as areas of focus for Painter heading into next season.

“We think the changeup is an above average pitch we feel for him,” Mattingly said. “It’s just getting him comfortable with using that because we think at the upper level, we still have to really use all four of his weapons. It’s not going to be just the fastball, slider. So changeup development, I think just getting more comfortable throwing it, would probably be the biggest thing, because we think he already has a pretty good one.

“Separation of the two breaking balls is the other thing. I know he’s worked on it a little bit. The curveball and slider at times can blend. I think we’ve really tried to focus on him separating those two.”

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Despite the few things that Painter has to focus on in the offseason, the past year has given the Phillies a lot of reason for optimism.

“The stuff got a lot better, just like pure velocity,” Mattingly said of Painter. “Seeing him last year in the instructional league, it was more in that 92 to 95 [mph] range. And this year when I saw him it was 95 to 100. So obviously the jump in velocity is impressive, and then, the command honestly got better as he went up to higher levels, which was pretty impressive.

“I think he had the most trouble commanding the zone in low A. When he got to double A at the end the walks went way down. The strikeouts were still in a good spot. So it was very impressive to see that, especially coming from a 19-year-old kid.”

McGarry, a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher, has also jumped three levels this year, from high A to triple A. The Phillies have been using him out of the bullpen to see if he could potentially contribute to the big-league club down the stretch, but McGarry has spent his collegiate and minor league career as a starter.

He has struggled in his five games at triple A with his ERA rising from 2.20 to 5.14, but Mattingly believes some of that could be due to a blister that put him on the injured list.

“Obviously, when you have a blister that keeps recurring it probably is in the back of your head,” Mattingly said. “I can’t speak for Griff and what he was thinking, but I think that may be a little bit of a factor.

“I also think a lot of it is just that he’s facing a different level of hitters, right? Triple A is hitters that may lay off certain pitches that he had been throwing at the lower levels that guys swing at. It’s just him understanding where he needs to go in the zone and how to finish guys at the upper levels.”

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Mattingly said the Phillies plan to use McGarry as a starter next season, despite coming out of the bullpen over the past few weeks.

“Griff McGarry is a starting pitcher 100%. We view that as an organization,” Mattingly said. “This was more of a little bit of a way to keep his innings under control, while also exposing him to a different role, but Griff is 100% a starting pitcher moving forward.

“I think he has some of the best if not the best stuff in all the minor leagues. So I think when you just start there, that’s really impressive. And I think his ability when he was built up as a starting pitcher to get deeper into games, I think we saw the command continue to improve. That’s why I think we’re really encouraged by the year he had as a starting pitcher, and I think we’ll continue that going forward.”

Mattingly mentioned two prospects who have impressed him over the past few weeks, and have flown somewhat under the radar. The first is Andrew Baker, a 22-year-old right-handed reliever, who posted a 3.98 ERA in 54⅓ innings between single-A Jersey Shore and double-A Reading.

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“He’s a very hard-throwing kid,” Mattingly said. “He’s 98 to 100 and up to 102 this year. At one point, I think he’s averaged 99. It’s an elite fastball, velocity wise, and he’s got a 88-90 mile-an-hour breaking ball that’s has a chance to be plus. So, he’s got a special arm.

“The command numbers from last year this year have significantly improved. So, yeah, he’s a special arm, special talent. I look forward to seeing if we can build on that next year.”

De La Cruz is an outfielder who will be one of the Phillies’ fall league representatives this year. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound 22-year-old can play all three outfield positions and first base. He hit .271/.333/.482 with 17 home runs between single-A Jersey Shore and double-A Reading.

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“He has top-of-the-scale exit velocities, so we think it’s gonna be top-of-the-scale power,” Mattingly said. “I think he’s still coming into his own body wise, maturity wise, and we think with the power ability, he has a really good swing and his ability to defend, too.

“With a kid that is his size, you always worry about the swing getting a little bit long. He’s very direct to the ball. He’s done a better job of getting the ball in the air. He puts himself in a really good position to hit over and over again.”