Phillies Prospect Andrew Painter Touches 100 MPH In Return From Tommy John Surgery

Image credit: Andrew Painter (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

The crowd and a large scouting contingent at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday afternoon buzzed amid the return of Phillies No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter, who hadn’t appeared in an official game since September 2022 after missing the previous two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Painter, who ranks No. 19 on our Top 100, was in vintage form in the first inning. He sat 98-100 mph on his fastball showing his typical ride and mixed in a hard high-80s slider that ranged from 87-89 mph. He yielded hard contact to the first two batters he faced in Adrian Pinto and rehabbing MLB regular Jeff McNeil. Pinto hit a liner off of a 90 mph slider to his pull side that was stabbed by third baseman Jake Gelof for the first out. The veteran McNeil jumped on the first pitch of his at-bat, a 99 mph fastball, hitting it hard to left fielder Otto Kemp.

The third batter of the inning, Giants star prospect Bryce Eldridge, whiffed on all three pitches he saw from Painter, swinging through a pair of fastballs at 98-99 mph before missing on a changeup at 89 mph to retire the final out of the first.

After a very encouraging first inning of work, things didn’t not go to plan in the second. On the second pitch of the inning, Josue Briceño took Painter deep on an offspeed pitch to right-center field. Painter walked the next batter, Drew Gilbert, on four pitches before he allowed a single to the Pirates’ Sammy Siani.

The next batter, Charlie Szykowny, hit a grounder back at Painter who turned the 1-6-3 double play. The bleeding wasn’t over, however, as the No. 8 hitter Kervin Pichardo hit a double to score the second run of the inning. The second ended the same as the first, as Painter struck out a second Giants prospect, sitting down catcher Drew Cavanaugh after falling behind 3-1. Painter generated a foul off of a 97 mph fastball to work the count full before generating a whiff on a 90 mph slider inside to end his outing.

Overall, the 21-year-old righty threw 29 pitches (18 strikes) over his two innings, yielding three hits and two runs over two innings to go along with his two strikeouts and one walk. He showed his premium stuff and the typical command struggles often present early in returns from Tommy John surgery. In the end, it was a strong first step in his return to an affiliated mound and potentially the major leagues early in 2025.