Phillies top prospect Andrew Painter shined in his second start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday night.
As expected, Painter tossed more pitches and went more innings than he did last week in his IronPigs debut, this time stretching to five encouraging innings in a 7-3 win against the Triple-A Mets in Syracuse, NY.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander, whose 12-6 curveball complements a fastball that has touched triple digits, allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three while walking two as he threw 71 total pitches against the Mets.
Andrew Painter (@Phillies) changing speeds as he fans three for the Triple-A @IronPigs:
98.3 mph fastball
82.4 mph curveball
87.4 mph changeup pic.twitter.com/OiMqKWLBcb— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 16, 2025
The franchise's most hyped pitching prospect since eventual World Series MVP Cole Hamels, and a top-five prospect in all of baseball, Painter picked up his first Triple-A win and his first overall victory since Sept. 9, 2022, as he missed all of 2023 and 2024 to recover from Tommy John surgery.
The Phillies have targeted sometime around July for Painter’s promotion to the big leagues, although they haven’t nailed down a specific date yet.
His three-inning debut against the Boston-affiliated Worcester last week, however, and his subsequent five-inning out on Thursday night are only bringing him that much closer to the majors.
In Syracuse, Painter opened the game with two scoreless frames before allowing a walk followed by a two-run homer to Mets first baseman Joey Meneses, a former big-leaguer who played parts of two seasons and one full season with the Nationals from 2022-2024 – he clubbed 13 homers with 89 RBIs just two years ago.
After the homer, Painter walked designated hitter Billy McKinney – the third straight Met to reach – but picked McKinney off first to end the third. The right-hander allowed just two more hits over the next two innings before being removed.
Another Phillies top prospect who could be in the majors this summer, outfielder Justin Crawford, slugged his first homer on Thursday night also.
Justin Crawford's first Triple-A roundtripper!@IronPigs | @Phillies | @PhilsPlayerDev | @MLBDevelops pic.twitter.com/XGeyT2NovD
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 15, 2025
In two Triple-A starts, Painter has now scattered six hits through eight innings and struck out eight while walking five. The 22-year-old was ushered quickly to Lehigh Valley following 11 1/3 innings for Single-A Clearwater, skipping a stop at Double-A Reading altogether.
Not since the Phillies called up Hamels in 2006 after eight starts in the minors has the organization boasted a pitching prospect as hyped as Painter, but it won’t be easy for the organization to shoehorn the 13th overall pick from 2021 into the starting rotation.
Even with Aaron Nola’s early-season struggles, the Phillies feature one of MLB’s top starting rotations with a combined ERA of 3.47 that ranks fifth in baseball. A six-man rotation might not sit well with the other starters who are accustomed to pitching on four days' rest.
But that's a conversation for down the road. Painter's next start for the IronPigs will come next week.
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