The Phillies returned to Citizens Bank Park for Monday’s series opener against the Pirates a season-high 10 games above .500.
It’s a far cry from where they were in April, as they tumbled as far as 10 games under .500 on April 26. But their improbable rebound has made them the first team in baseball history to bounce back from 10 games under .500 to 10 games over .500 before the end of June.
Now, they’ve all but erased their dismal start. At the 84-game mark last year, the Phillies had a 49-35 record, and would go on to finish with 96 wins and win the division. This year, they are 47-37 at the same point.
“This is a 96-win club last year, this is not a club that didn’t show up every day and play every day,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “You win 96 games, you’re playing good baseball, so nothing that you really didn’t expect to happen is happening. Just want to keep it going.”
Not only that, but the Phillies have closed within three games of the Braves for the lead in the National League East. It’s a gap that was as wide as 10½ games in May.
NL East standings
window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}});
It’s helped out that the Braves’ early-season dominance has somewhat faltered, with Atlanta posting a 9-13 record so far in June. But the Phillies have managed to capitalize, and a chasm that seemed insurmountable a month ago is shaping into a race again, with two series remaining between the teams in September.
“I wasn’t really looking at Atlanta,” Mattingly said. “I was looking more at us getting back to .500 at first, then to five [games over .500], and then trying to get to 10, and now trying to get to 15, and wherever you end up landing is where you land, but obviously you want to win the division. But still day to day, and so much baseball to be played.”
Right fielder Adolis García was at the ballpark on Monday to get checked out after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a torn lat on Wednesday.
García, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal in the offseason, spent time catching up with his teammates behind the batting cage pregame. His rehab is expected to take place primarily at the Phillies’ facilities in Clearwater, Fla.
“He’s just coming in to see where he’s at. He’s had surgery a few days ago, he’s not going to be able to do a whole lot, but it’d be good to see him,” Mattingly said.
Starting pitcher Andrew Painter will likely make his next start for Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
Painter’s next start
The Phillies haven’t officially announced when Andrew Painter will make his next start for triple-A Lehigh Valley, but Mattingly said he expects the righty will remain on a regular schedule.
With the minor leagues having a day off built into their schedule each Monday, that means joining a six-day rotation, which would line up Painter to next appear on Saturday in Rochester.
“Unless they want to move him, or there’s a reason for us to move him to keep him on a certain day to match up with certain guys,” Mattingly said. “So, in general, I think he’s just one of the boys down there and working on his craft and getting it together.”
Mattingly said pitching coach Caleb Cotham’s report was that Painter was OK in his first appearance after getting optioned, in which he allowed one run over four innings.
“Still felt like some of the things that they talked about implementing, he’s starting to be able to do that,” Mattingly said. “We just let it play out now.”
Tommy Pham made his first appearance for the Florida Complex League Phillies on Monday after signing a minor league deal with the organization. Pham, who the Phillies picked up as outfield depth after he was released by the Orioles, went 2-for-2 in the Complex League game.
The 38-year-old outfielder has a .256 career average and .764 OPS across 13 seasons and 10 teams. He went hitless in 13 at-bats across nine games with the Mets this April before being released and catching on with the Orioles’ triple-A affiliate.
“I know Tommy from the past; I always liked Tommy, he gives you good at-bats,” Mattingly said. “I don’t know what the plan is other than to see where it goes and how he’s swinging and how he’s performing, and what we need.”
Extra bases
Gabriel Rincones Jr. was back in the lineup Monday against right-hander Braxton Ashcraft after sitting in the series finale against the Mets. Rincones has a .118 batting average in 32 major league at-bats. “[Sunday] was more of a day off, and kind of a little bit of a reset for Rico, see where it goes,” Mattingly said. … Cristopher Sánchez (9-3, 2.13 ERA) is scheduled to start opposite Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler (3-7, 4.42) on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — Kyle Schwarber was out of the Phillies lineup on Wednesday, missing a second consecutive game with tightness in his lower back.
The Phillies designated hitter felt his back lock up a few minutes before first pitch on Tuesday. He found it difficult to swing, and was a late scratch from what would ultimately be a roller coaster 14-9 win over Washington.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday that Schwarber was feeling better, but he wanted to be cautious and give him another day off. Bryce Harper was in the lineup at designated hitter, with Alec Bohm moving to first base and Edmundo Sosa starting at third.
“I think if it was a different time of year, we’d do everything we could to get him to play today, and he would too, I think,” Mattingly said. “But just being a little cautious with him, don’t want to end up being two weeks or something.”
Mattingly said pregame on Wednesday that he hoped Schwarber would improve enough to be available off the bench in an emergency situation as a pinch-hitter. But he didn’t want to put a definitive timetable on Schwarber’s return.
“If it takes another day, it takes another day,” Mattingly said. “And we got guys who can play. So [better to] be cautious.”
On Tuesday, Sosa slid into the lineup at designated hitter in Schwarber’s place on short notice, and had five RBIs in the Phillies’ comeback win, including a ninth-inning double that was part of their eight-run rally with two outs.
“I definitely wish Schwarber was out there every single night for us, but health always comes first, and we got to make sure he’s OK, and get him back out there,” Brandon Marsh said. “But it’s just next-man-up mentality. Sosa stepped up and had a tremendous game for us, man.”
Andrew Painter was optioned to triple A by the Phillies on June 18.
Painter set to return to action in triple A
Andrew Painter is scheduled to start on Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley, his first game appearance since being optioned on June 18.
After the Phillies’ prized rookie struggled to a 7.06 ERA in 14 games, the Phillies sent him down to the minors to work on his fastball. Batters were slugging .660 against his four-seam. The pitch has a run value of minus-11 according to StatCast, which is third-worst among four-seamers in the majors, only better than those thrown by Aaron Nola (minus-13) and the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (minus-12).
Instead of getting into a triple-A game right away, Painter threw multiple bullpen sessions to work on his delivery. But he will be back facing the Syracuse Mets on Sunday, which Mattingly said he expects to be a “full start.”
“I don’t know if it would be a 100-pitch type start, they may want to be cautious a little bit, but there’s no limitations on him, anything he can’t do. It’s a start,” Mattingly said. “Hopefully we get able to start ironing things out, and that starts to take hold.”
Adolis García’s recovery from surgery is expected be last six to eight months.
García undergoes surgery
Adolis García’s season is officially over after undergoing right latissimus dorsi repair surgery on Wednesday morning in Chicago. The timeline for recovery is six to eight months.
García tore his lat while making a throw from the outfield in Toronto on June 10. He had become a popular member of the Phillies clubhouse after signing a one-year deal in the winter.
The right fielder has a strong relationship with Sosa, dating back to their time in the St. Louis Cardinals‘ minor league system. García would use his DJ skills to soundtrack the Phillies’ postgame win celebrations, and had a turntable set up in the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.
Mattingly said García will be rehabbing at the Phillies complex in Clearwater, Fla., instead of being around the major league club.
“It’s just hard to have guys that you’re rehabbing every day, when you have a bunch of guys that need treatment and things like that,” Mattingly said. “But he was very popular. I think he was easy to be popular, because he was a positive guy, played with a smile on his face, just a professional from the standpoint of being ready to play every day.”
Extra bases
Right-hander Bryse Wilson, who was designated for assignment on Monday, was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. … Cristopher Sánchez (9-3, 1.80 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07).
“We haven’t put a timetable on it,“ general manager Preston Mattingly said on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “It’s TBD at this point when he comes back. But I think we all know as an organization that we’re going to need him.”
OK, but in the meantime, the Phillies must fill Painter’s spot. They don’t have many options. Starting pitching depth has been a concern since the offseason. It isn’t an organizational strength.
But before the Phillies settle the fifth-starter question, they will slightly rearrange the rotation beyond co-aces Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler. Jesús Luzardo will move back one day to avoid overtaxing the bullpen by splitting up Painter’s spot and Aaron Nola.
So, after Wheeler starts at home Sunday night against the Mets, the rotation will shape up like this for the upcoming series in Washington: Monday: No. 5 starter; Tuesday: Luzardo; Wednesday: Nola; Thursday: Sánchez.
As for who will take the fifth (spot), the Phillies seem to have three choices:
Bryse Wilson: Called up to fill Painter’s roster spot, Wilson threw 29 pitches in two scoreless innings of relief Thursday night against the Mets, which would line him up to start on short rest. The 28-year-old righty had a 6.29 ERA in triple A but also hadn’t allowed a run in 12 innings in his last three starts. He has appeared in 164 major-league games, including 57 starts.
Alan Rangel is a candidate to join the Phillies’ starting rotation next week.
Alan Rangel: Despite occasionally spotty command (27 walks in 70 innings), Rangel has been Lehigh Valley’s most consistent starter. He has a 3.99 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) and would be on regular rest Monday.
Bullpen game/opener: The Phillies have more depth in the bullpen. Interim manager Don Mattingly said he isn’t inclined to pass the baton from reliever to reliever for nine innings. But the Phillies could use an opener before turning to a bulk pitcher, possibly Wilson or Rangel.
“I don’t know about bullpen-heavy, but obviously there will be usage,” Mattingly said. “There’s no plan to just go two innings and then try to do the whole thing with a bullpen. It won’t be that kind of game. We’ll definitely have bulk in there.”
The fifth spot in the rotation will come around four times before the All-Star break. Painter isn’t expected back until after the second half opens. He will throw multiple bullpen sessions before making his first start for Lehigh Valley, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.
Painter has a 7.06 ERA and a 1-8 record (the Phillies are 3-9 in his starts). Opponents are batting .404 and slugging .660 against his fastball.
The Phillies believe it stems mostly from his delivery. He tends to over-rotate toward the first-base side of the mound, rather than striding directly toward home plate, which has affected his ability to command the fastball.
“Most of it is delivery-oriented,” Dombrowski said. “Because he’s done some things with his delivery, just going more directly to the plate rather than spinning off. He’s had more life, and you see it at times. He threw some pitches that were outstanding but not on a consistent basis.
“So, the feeling is that when he does that, when he gives that effort going forward, his ball’s got more movement. He’s got more command of his pitches.”
Trea Turner is back in the lineup after suffering a bruised right calf on Thursday.
Trea bien
Trea Turner returned to the lineup Saturday — in his familiar leadoff spot — after leaving Thursday night’s game with a bruised right calf. He got hit by a pitch from Mets lefty Sean Manaea in the first inning.
When Turner reported soreness and tightness, Mattingly took him out of the game. But after a day off Friday, Turner felt better.
“For me, the biggest danger with that is him running differently, and then we’re into a hamstring or a hip [injury] or something like that,” Mattingly said. “So, wanted to make sure that he can run. That was his biggest issue, just pushing off. The off-day did him well.”
Lefty reliever Kyle Backhus (elbow) was scheduled to make his fifth injury rehab appearance for Lehigh Valley. The Phillies likely will reinstate him from the injured list early next week. Backhus could fill an important role in the bullpen, with lefty José Alvarado struggling and Tanner Banks getting sent back to the minors. … Gage Wood update: The Phillies’ top prospect has a 3.71 ERA, 25 strikeouts, and only five walks in 17 innings over five starts since his promotion to double A. … Wheeler (6-1, 2.01 ERA) will be opposed Sunday night by Mets lefty David Peterson (3-5, 5.91).
Nationals left fielder Daylen Lile can recall facing Andrew Painter as a teenager.
Lile, 23, is four months older than the 22-year-old Phillies pitcher, and they grew up competing on the travel ball circuit many years before they played against each other at Citizens Bank Park. They also faced off in the 2020 Perfect Game All-American Classic in Oklahoma City, a showcase of the top high school baseball players in the country that also doubles as a charity fundraiser for pediatric cancer research.
Lile, a Kentucky native, represented the West, while Painter, a Floridian, played for the East.
“Seeing him through travel ball and seeing him now, kind of the same pitcher,” Lile said. “… Just keeping hitters guessing. He’s got really plus stuff. He’s got really good extension, being a tall guy.”
Lile was one of the few Nationals hitters who found success against Painter in his sparkling major-league debut on Tuesday. Over 5⅓ innings of work, Painter allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk to secure his first major league win. He struck out eight, mixing all six of his pitches.
“He was as advertised,” said Nationals manager Blake Butera. “He’s going to be a really good pitcher in this game for a long time. That was pretty impressive stuff.”
Lile was responsible for half of the Nationals’ hits against Painter, notching a single to lead off the second and a double with one out in the fourth. He joked that it was nice payback after Painter struck him out, back when they were both 17.
“I think he got me one time, but it was nice to get him back today,” Lile said.
Nationals right fielder James Wood and third baseman Brady House also played in that showcase in Oklahoma City six years ago as Painter’s teammates on the East team.
Each of them were early draft picks, then top prospects, and now all four have officially made it to the majors.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Lile said. “Obviously, we talk about it. We’re pretty young, but to see all of us doing what we’re doing up here, it’s pretty special.”
Painter’s road here has taken more twists and turns than expected. He entered the spring of 2023 battling for a Phillies rotation spot, but he suffered a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery and sidelined him for nearly two years.
After returning to competitive action in the minor leagues last season, he was expected to potentially impact the major league club. But erratic fastball command led to inconsistent results in triple-A Lehigh Valley, and a call-up never arrived.
That is, until he made the Phillies opening day roster this year. And according to the hitters on the other side on Tuesday night, his heater was a big part of what made him so effective.
“He was kind of manipulating his fastball well,” said Wood, who went 0-for-3 against Painter. “He had a little bit of cut to it. So I feel like that made it play up.”
Wood, hitting leadoff for the Nationals, became Painter’s first career strikeout in the first inning when he swung through a splitter below the zone. He struck out again in the fifth, whiffing on Painter’s fastball.
When asked if Painter reminded him of another pitcher he’s faced before, Wood didn’t have a comparison.
“No, he’s Andrew Painter,” Wood said. “He’s a good pitcher in his own right.”
Andrew Painter hadn’t even completed his walk in from the bullpen when he heard the first ovation. As he crossed the first-base line, fans behind the Phillies’ dugout stood and cheered, a gesture befitting the occasion.
But it didn’t compare to the last ovation.
At 8:02 p.m. Tuesday, 80 minutes after a first pitch that was three years in the making, Painter relinquished the ball and left the mound to a roar that might have lifted the cherry-red cap clear off his head if manager Rob Thomson hadn’t reminded him to do it himself.
“That was awesome,” Painter said later, after the Phillies held on for a feel-good 3-2 victory over the Nationals. “I don’t think I could’ve drawn it up much better.”
Somehow, almost impossibly, the most anticipated major-league debut by a Phillies pitcher in two decades, since franchise icon Cole Hamels in 2006, actually lived up to the hype.
And then some.
First, the line: 5⅓ innings, four hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts, 84 pitches, 57 strikes. But that doesn’t even do justice to how well Painter pitched before 40,708 paying customers at the corner of 11th and Pattison.
Ten days shy of turning 23, the youngest Phillies starter since Ranger Suárez in 2018 — with “Andrew’s Painters” in Section 302, “Painter’s Painters” in Section 218, and who knows how many other groups of homage-paying fans popping up across the ballpark — Painter dialed his fastball to 98.7 mph, unleashed wicked curveballs and sweepers and bat-slowing changeups, and even got a few strikeouts with a splitter that he’s been perfecting.
And then there was his demeanor — chill as could be.
“He didn’t seem fazed by anything,” said Kyle Schwarber, who hit a solo homer in the third inning. “Even before the game, there was no pacing, no nothing. It was pretty cool.”
J.T. Realmuto added: “He seemed super calm, confident. You would have never known it was his first start.”
And from Adolis García, who hit his first Phillies homer in the fourth inning: “He looked like a star.”
Fellow rookie Justin Crawford scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth inning on an error by Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr. With Crawford in center field, it marked the first time since Aug. 7, 2015, that the Phillies started an under-23 pitcher and position player in a game (Aaron Nola and Maikel Franco).
“When those young guys come up, there’s a lot of excitement,” Thomson said. “And guys root for them because they remember their first appearance or game in the big leagues.”
Crawford debuted with two hits on opening day. This was Painter’s moment.
Take it from the top. His first pitch hummed in at 96.6 mph for a called strike. Realmuto tossed out the ball for a souvenir. Four pitches later, another keepsake: a curveball that struck out Nationals leadoff hitter James Wood.
Then came a Houdini act. After yielding back-to-back singles to open the second, Painter escaped with three fly balls.
Nationals manager Blake Butera stacked the lineup with six left-handed hitters and two switch-hitters to increase the degree of difficulty. Lefties batted .287 with an .857 OPS against Painter last season in the minor leagues.
But Painter mixed his pitches like a blender to the lefties, preventing them from sitting on the heater. And the second time through the order, he began sprinkling in splitters.
“We were, I mean, not necessarily saving it, but I didn’t feel like he needed it that first time through because he was throwing everything else so well,” Realmuto said. “It’s always good as a starting pitcher to be able to have something in your back pocket for the second or third time through the lineup.”
It’s part of what makes the special ones great. And make no mistake: The Phillies believe Painter is special.
For years, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has hung up the phone on rival executives who have made trade offers for Painter. In 2023, when Painter was 19, the Phillies seriously considered him in spring training for a spot in the season-opening starting rotation.
But then Painter tore an elbow ligament, had surgery, and missed two seasons. When he returned to the mound in triple-A last season, Dombrowski believed he’d be ready for the majors by the summer. But Painter struggled to command his fastball, posted a 5.40 ERA in 22 triple-A starts, and never got called up.
“We’ve been waiting for a while for this,” Thomson said, “and so have our players.”
Painter conceded that he thought about his debut often over the last three years. It helped him to get through the long, sweaty days of rehab at the team’s facility in Clearwater, Fla., and the challenging nights last season in Lehigh Valley.
Was it all that he imagined?
“It probably exceeded it,” he said. “A lot of people showed up. I think there were about 40 [family and friends] here. Maybe even more, honestly. Just the support system behind me, everyone come out, taking time out of their week to come watch me pitch, it’s great.
“The crowd showed up tonight and kind of rallied behind me. Just kind of soaked all of it in. I came in, I didn’t want to place an expectation on myself. I just wanted to go out there and make sure I was convicted in every pitch that I was throwing and feel confident with everything that I was throwing.”
The ovation for Andrew Painter, who leaves with a tip of the cap with a runner on first and one out in the sixth inning. Four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts. He leaves a 3-0 lead for Tanner Banks. pic.twitter.com/8V6BnAx9Cw
Painter didn’t want to stop throwing in the sixth inning. But after allowing a one-out single to CJ Abrams on his 84th pitch, he got a visit from Thomson, who tapped him on the chest.
“Did you enjoy it?” the manager said.
Painter initially shook his head no before realizing what Thomson said. Yes, Painter said. He enjoyed it.
“Just make sure you tip your cap when you walk off,” Thomson said.
Cue the ovation.
“I almost forgot,” Painter said of the cap-tip. “But I did it.”
Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter tips his hat as he comes out of the game in the sixth inning of his MLB debut.
With the promise of many more in the future.
“If we can keep him healthy, this guy’s going to be really good for a long time,” Thomson said. “He’s going to have a really great career. He’s one of those upper-echelon guys that’s got the combination of power and command. The future is bright for him.”
So, you say you want to get to know Andrew Painter better?
Ask him about pickleball.
No, wait, not just about the paddle game, which the Phillies‘ best pitching prospect in 20 years enjoys playing after offseason workouts in South Florida. Get him to explain his “signature move,” Spencer Stockton teases, and well, how do you not take that bait?
“I had the ‘skyball,’” Painter says.
The skyball?
“I just hit it up real high,” Painter continues, leaving out the part about yelling “Skyball” at the top of his lungs. “You can ask [Jesús] Luzardo about it. He never returned it. It wasn’t always in. No one ever figured out how to hit it. It was out of bounds most of the time.”
A trick serve that borders on the absurd and has little chance of actually landing inside the lines? It’s goofy. And quintessentially Painter, scheduled to make the most highly anticipated major-league debut by a Phillies pitcher since Cole Hamels on Tuesday night at home against the Nationals.
He goes by Andrew on the mound but Andy around friends and peers, most of whom describe him with a common adjective: “happy-go-lucky.” That characterization applied even last October, according to Stockton, who didn’t know what to expect when Painter walked back into Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where many major-league pitchers train in the offseason.
Phillies fans have heard about Painter for years, since he dominated three levels of the minor leagues in 2022. In 2023, at age 19, he was competing in spring training for a rotation spot — and probably would’ve made the team — when he tore a ligament in his elbow. Rest and rehab didn’t work. He had surgery four months later.
It was 15 months before Painter would pitch in a game. And after he overpowered hitters for six weeks in 2024 in the Arizona Fall League, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who likened Painter before surgery to Justin Verlander, infamously said the 6-foot-7 righty might be ready for the majors by last “July-ish.”
Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter had a 2.31 ERA in four spring starts.
But Painter struggled in his first exposure to triple A. Like most pitchers who are returning from Tommy John surgery, his fastball command came and went. His arm angle dipped. He made 22 triple-A starts, not missing any, but posted a 5.40 ERA.
“July-ish” turned into, well, nothing. Painter made his final triple-A start on Sept. 17 and went home once the season ended.
Stockton, a former minor-league pitcher with the Reds and now a coach at Cressey, didn’t know what frame of mind his former pickleball partner would be in when he got there.
“I expected him to be maybe a little morose about what had happened,” Stockton said by phone. “I assumed he was probably going to be a little disappointed. But it was kind of the opposite. He was very driven and very realistic about what happened.”
And now, at last, Painter is ready for his close-up.
When he finally takes the mound in Citizens Bank Park, it will be 1,126 days since Painter’s ill-fated spring-training start in 2023 and 980 since his surgery — and 10 days shy of his 23rd birthday. Painter will still be the youngest pitcher to start a game for the Phillies since Ranger Suárez on Aug. 16, 2018.
Maybe some of the prospect shine has dulled since Baseball America named Painter as the best pitcher in the minors in 2022. But the expectations are every bit as grand as ever.
“I’ve always followed him because he’s a friend of the family,” said former Phillies manager Joe Girardi, whose son, Dante, played with Painter in high school. “Andrew went through somewhat of a traumatic experience, where he had to rehab his elbow and deal with a lot. It’s great to see him back. We’re pulling for him.”
Andrew Painter, who pitched in the Under Armour All-America Game in 2019 at Wrigley Field, was a high school star in Florida.
The rise
Painter pitched in high school at Calvary Christian Academy, a powerhouse program in Fort Lauderdale. As a freshman, he was the No. 4 starter in a rotation that included future Mets right-hander Christian Scott.
It wasn’t long before Painter moved up the ranks.
The talent was overwhelming. Girardi recalled attending a tournament at USA Baseball’s headquarters in Cary, N.C., in 2018. Painter faced a team from Mississippi and took a perfect game into the sixth inning.
“I looked at [his wife] Kim, and I said, ‘There’s a first-round pick in waiting,’” Girardi said by phone. “It was 90 mph; four pitches. He could command them all. He was thin. He hadn’t filled out yet. But there was just so much potential there. You could just see that he was going to be special.”
Yet Painter seemed unfazed by it all. He took baseball seriously, especially while he was on the mound. But around friends and teammates, he didn’t take himself seriously.
To wit: Painter, who towered over most teammates, walked into the high-profile National High School Invitational in North Carolina with a Kermit the Frog backpack slung over his shoulders, former Calvary Christian coach Alan Kunkel recalled.
Girardi remembered Painter begging the coaches to let him hit in batting practice. He shagged fly balls in the outfield with such zeal that Girardi would utter, “Please don’t get hurt.”
“You saw Andy’s comedic side early,” Kunkel said by phone. “Andy’s always been pretty low-key and shy and just kind of quirky and very funny, very witty. But he’s never wanted to be the guy that’s drawing all the attention.”
Indeed, Painter will talk forever about college football (he’s a Florida Gators fan) or video games, or his adventures in posting up Max Scherzer in a pickup basketball game after workouts at Cressey. He just isn’t about to post his pitching clips on Instagram.
Never mind that he was well-known in the South Florida high school baseball world. Luzardo, a prospect in the Nationals’ farm system at the time, heard of Painter and recalls watching him in high school. People would inevitably notice him — “It’s not like you can miss him, man, at 6-6, 6-7,” Kunkel said — but not because he drew attention to himself.
“We live in a very vain time where, man, it’s hard to find supercompetitive kids that are willing to just grind and put in the time and not care who gets credit for it,” Kunkel said. “Andy is one of those kids. Andy has never cared about the vanity of the sport, or cared about being posterized or put on social media. He’s just wanted to be a big leaguer and just continue to compete.”
Andrew Painter can appear laid back, but he’s “no more, no less of a competitor than the most competitive kid that I’ve ever coached,” said Alan Kunkel, his former high school coach.
At times, Kunkel said Painter’s laid-back demeanor would create the wrong impression. Pro scouts often asked about his competitiveness. Kunkel was there to offer reassurance.
“He’s no more, no less of a competitor than the most competitive kid that I’ve ever coached,” Kunkel said. “I always said he’s got the heart rate to be a surgeon or to be a big league pitcher. Ninth inning, World Series moment, I don’t know that that would bother him any more than having to perform heart surgery on somebody for people who have the talent and drive to do that.”
The Phillies got several up-close looks at Painter in high school. In addition to area scout Victor Gomez, who attended almost all of Painter’s starts in a 12-month span leading up to the draft, amateur scouting director Brian Barber saw him pitch five times in the summer of 2020 and twice in the spring of ‘21.
Oh, and they had plenty of inside information on Painter. Girardi was managing the Phillies in 2021. Brian Kaplan, whom the Phillies hired after the 2021 season as director of pitching development, coached Painter at Cressey Sports.
The only question, it seemed, was whether Painter would still be on the board when the Phillies made the 13th overall pick.
“I do remember going into that morning [of the draft] thinking, if you had me guess on who we were going to take, it was going to be Andy Painter,” Barber said. “I thought he had a chance to get there, and I knew if he was going to get there, we were going to take him.”
It was the second consecutive year that the Phillies drafted a high school pitcher in the first round. On Aug. 6, 2022, Mick Abel and Painter started back-to-back in an A-ball doubleheader in Lakewood, N.J. Abel allowed three hits and three walks and struck out eight in six scoreless innings. Painter one-upped him across the board: two hits, one walk, 11 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.
“The guy is just an alien,” Abel said a few days later. “He’s awesome.”
Andrew Painter’s parents and new fiancée will be at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday for his major league debut against the Nationals.
The return
Imagine being 19 years old and “on a rocket ship to what looked like superstardom,” as Barber put it. Now imagine having it taken away.
How would you cope?
Painter became a grillmaster.
“He kind of ventured off and learned how to cook and enjoyed testing out new types of meats and things of that nature,” Kunkel said. “My man was researching seasonings; he was researching meat types. He’s very proud of his cooking arsenal right now.”
Last season left a sour taste in Painter’s mouth. He got through it healthy, which was the most important part. And there were restrictions. For example, he wasn’t allowed to long-toss from beyond 120 feet.
But upon returning to South Florida, Painter was energized by the idea of a normal offseason. He got together with Stockton and Phillies assistant pitching coach Mark Lowy, who previously worked at Cressey Sports, to dig in on why triple-A hitters slugged .585 against his fastball last season.
Among their discoveries: Painter’s arm slot dipped from its presurgery position, which impacted the shape of his heater. The Phillies identified the issue during the season but were cautious among making changes in a competitive environment.
“He got into some subpar throwing positions, but he was athletic enough to still throw 100,” Stockton said. “When things go wrong and you’ve never struggled, you start to throw things at the wall that maybe aren’t necessarily the best things for you. I think that’s kind of what he ran into last year, and it was like, ‘Well, how do I fix it?’”
Start by long-tossing from greater distances. There were other drills, too. Stockton gave Painter a red, 6-pound ball and had him throw it as hard as he could from the mound, then do the same with a regular ball. As the shape of his fastball returned, the usual movement came back, too.
Painter and Luzardo worked out together six days a week with Stockton beginning in November. Painter worked on his changeup, which he threw a lot, especially to righties, in spring training. He worked on separating his sweeper from his traditional slider. He also lost about 15 pounds to get back to 225.
But Stockton noticed something else about Painter.
“He was just very motivated to get going from Day 1,” he said. “It’s a testament to how far he’s come. When he was 18-19, even when he was in high school and we were all training together, as you would expect from a kid that throws 100 in high school, he was a little immature. But that was only four years ago, and he’s leaps and bounds ahead of that.
“It helps him for the future. Is he going to be a Cy Young [winner] this year, or even Rookie of the Year? Chances are, he probably won’t. But when you can get some of these things out of the way at 22-23, those shortcomings that you have early on when you’re supposed to be the guy, it helps the career arc a little bit.”
Surely, they squeezed in some time for pickleball, too. The “skyball” doesn’t get better without practice.
But everything will come into focus Tuesday night. Painter’s parents and new fiancée (he got engaged last month) will be there. Kunkel, who now coaches at a high school in Orlando, is even skipping a game — “The first game I’ve ever missed as a high school coach, man,” he said — to be there with his wife and daughters.
Maybe even Hamels, who works for the Phillies, will be in attendance.
“Sometimes with young pitchers, you worry about them trying to do too much, and it can manifest itself with a lack of control or getting hurt,” Girardi said. “I think he learned from that experience, and I think he’s going be better for it, and I think he’s prepared for what’s coming up.”
