Andrew Painter finally gave Phillies fans the start they've been picturing since he was a teenager throwing 100 mph in spring training. Against Arizona, the 22-year-old righty went 7 innings without allowing a run, the first scoreless outing of his career, and did it by making big league hitters look silly (2095263132495012128).
Andrew Painter fired seven strong innings against the Diamondbacks for the first scoreless start of his career
It's easy to forget this is still a rookie season for Painter. He was the consensus best prospect in the Phillies system, climbed into the top five overall in MLB Pipeline's rankings, and was tracking toward a big league job before his 20th birthday when Tommy John surgery wiped out roughly 2 years of development. He didn't make his actual MLB debut until this past April, when he struck out 8 Nationals over 5.1 innings in a win. This start against the Diamondbacks is the version of Painter the organization has been waiting on.
The pitch that's been getting the most run online is his changeup, a weapon scouts didn't even used to talk about much when the conversation was all triple-digit heat and a hammer curveball. Pitching Ninja caught him spinning a 90 mph changeup that buckled a hitter, and then did it again a few minutes later.
Andrew Painter, Nasty 90mph Changeup. 👌
That's not a normal pitch. A changeup sitting at 90 mph off a fastball that's touched 97 in the past isn't just deception, it's a second and third bat-misser layered on top of already elite raw stuff. JT Realmuto has compared Painter's overall package to teammate Zack Wheeler, and outings like this are exactly why that comparison gets made instead of laughed off.
Painter backed the changeup up with a slider that was just as ugly for Arizona's lineup, generating the kind of late, sharp break that makes hitters look like they're guessing.
Andrew Painter, Dirty 89mph Slider. 😨
The Phillies are currently rolling with Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler at the top of the rotation, with the back end still sorting itself out. A 7-inning scoreless line with swing-and-miss stuff on multiple pitches is the loudest argument yet that Painter isn't just competing for a rotation spot anymore, he's auditioning to be one of the best arms in it.