Andrew Painter Takes Next Step Toward Philadelphia Phillies, MLB Debut
Andrew Painter didn't give up a hit in his first 2026 Spring Training start with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Video Transcript
There is so much excitement and hype around Andrew Painter this season, and for good reason.
The Phillies top prospect can really make a big impact on this team in two thousand and twenty-six, and he made one step closer to making his Philadelphia Phillies and MLB debut on Sunday, making his first start of to the two thousand and twenty-six spring training.
And it was a very efficient start at that.
The right-hander only threw twenty pitches over two innings, but he gave up no runs, no hits, no walks, and did strike out one batter as well.
And again, about ten pitches per inning, that's a very efficient outing for Painter, and that's again, kind of what he was hoping to do in this outing.
After the game, he said he was just trying to get ahead of early encounters, not fall behind.
He kind of said how that was an issue for him a year ago, and he really overcame that.
And again, just one outing, but it's still nice progress nonetheless.
The fastball was one of the most impressive pitches that Painter threw in this appearance.
It was the-- truly the pitch he threw the most.
It topped out at ninety-seven point eight miles an hour and had plenty of life and movement to it as well.
Painter did say during an in-game interview that that was something, the fastball was something he worked on over the off-season, so it's nice to see that it came alive in his first start of the year.
And really looking at Painter coming off Tommy John surgery, he said for the-- for it being his first spring training start in three years, obviously it means a lot to him, but he-- there's always gonna be a little more, little bit more excitement and juice, but he's really just focused on the regular season at, at all.
Now, again, there's still a long way to go before opening day, but if Painter continues to pitch like this throughout spring training, he's definitely gonna make the roster, make the opening day roster, make the rotation, and with that, really could be one of the big pitchers and big factors for the Phillies in two thousand and twenty-six.
