Phillies set to promote top pitching prospects Mick Abel and Andrew Painter to double A

It’s moving day for Mick Abel and Andrew Painter.

The Phillies will promote their top pitching prospects to double-A Reading this week, a source said Sunday, confirming a report by The Athletic. Abel and Painter are tentatively scheduled to make their next starts Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at home against Portland.

Abel turns 21 on Thursday; Painter is 19. But the Phillies chose to press the accelerator on their development -- and reunite them with touted right-hander Griff McGarry -- because the back-to-back first-round picks proved they could pitch deep into games and be effective at high-A Jersey Shore.

» READ MORE: ‘Unreal’ double feature: Mick Abel and Andrew Painter offer glimpse of what could be for Phillies

“The thing that these two have done is dominate the level,” Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Travis Hergert said by phone last week. “That’s the goal. Leave nothing behind and continue to dominate the level, and then, when we feel that they’re ready, as an organization, to take the next step, then they’ll do so.”

Painter, in particular, has been dominant. In eight starts since his promotion from low-A Clearwater, he posted a 0.98 ERA and a 49-to-7 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 36 2/3 innings. He didn’t allow a run in 20 innings over his last three starts.

Abel struggled in his last outing, allowing six runs (four earned) in 1 1/3 innings. Prior to that, he had back-to-back starts of six scoreless innings. He had a 4.01 ERA in 18 starts for Jersey Shore, but allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of those starts.

Two weeks ago, Abel and Painter dazzled in back-to-back games of a doubleheader. Abel gave up three hits and struck out eight in six scoreless innings; Painter followed by allowing two hits and striking out 11 in seven shutout frames.

Dave Dombrowski indicated last month that the Phillies wouldn’t be shy about pushing their best minor league pitchers through the system, suggesting Abel, Painter, and McGarry will be in major-league spring-training camp next year and could be considered for rotation spots in 2023.

Painter, the 13th overall pick last year, throws a 98-99 mph fastball. Abel, the 14th overall pick in 2020, often reaches 97-98 mph. Both could have dominated single-A hitters by throwing only heaters. But the Phillies have worked with them on developing their offspeed pitches and deploying them appropriately to offset their fastballs.

Abel, for instance, has changed the grip on his slider to get more sweeping action.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ next ‘dominant duo’? Mick Abel and Andrew Painter poised to climb the ranks together

“That’s been our main goal this year, to develop the offspeed and have the understanding that I can use my fastball the majority of the time but I still need to develop those secondary offerings,” Abel said. “I’ve been very confident with them the last few outings. It’s been really great for me to use all the pitches and know that I’m going to need them later on in my career. Last year I didn’t do as good a job at that as I could’ve.”

Said Hergert: “It goes back to learning their craft, but understanding how to deploy those pitches when and where and in what situations. I can’t credit our pitching coaches enough for just continuing to educate them on that every single outing.”

The Phillies have also emphasized training their pitching prospects to get through six or seven innings in the minor leagues. They altered the schedule for their A-ball starters this season. Rather than pitching them on five-day routines, they’ve given them one start per week, similar to a college schedule.

Abel worked 85 1/3 innings for Jersey Shore; Painter has logged 75 1/3 innings between the two A-ball levels. The Phillies have a target workload for both pitchers -- “90- to 100-plus innings,” Hergert said.

Now, they will challenge them to reach that number against older, more advanced competition.