Andrew Painter

Painter, a lean 6-foot-7 righty whom the Phillies selected out of high school with the No. 13 overall pick in 2021, dominated Single-A hitters (35.6 K-BB%) across nine starts to open his first full season. It was noteworthy, but many pitchers with command of complete arsenals (four pitches led by 70-grade upper-90s fastball and plus slider) cruise through that level of the minors. However, prospectors really started taking notice when Painter didn't skip a beat after promotions to High-A and Double-A. His walk rate actually fell from 10.7% at Single-A to 4.9% at High-A and 1.8% in 28.1 innings at Double-A while his strikeout rate remained above 33%. He led qualified minor-league starters in WHIP and K-BB% and ranked second in ERA and won't turn 20 until April 10. A distinguishing factor for Painter relative to some of the game's other top young pitching prospects is that he threw six-plus innings in eight of his 22 starts and completed seven innings three times. The idea of a pitcher this young making an impact in a big-league rotation will be hard for some to buy, but Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski brought Jeremy Bonderman and Rick Porcello to the majors as 20-year-olds when he ran things in Detroit, and the Phillies have a top-heavy rotation with room for a fresh face in 2023. Sometimes when teenagers dominate like this across their first full-season, the encore can be disappointing (Forrest Whitley, MacKenzie Gore). Jose Fernandez's 2013 rookie season is a best-case example. If Painter picks up where he left off this spring, the notion of him winning a rotation spot out of camp will start to gain traction and the market will react accordingly.