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MLB Pipeline ranks Andrew Painter as No. 1 right-handed pitching prospect in baseball

MLB Pipeline ranked Andrew Painter as the best right handed pitching prospect in baseball. (Cheryl Pursell)

One of the biggest storylines of spring training this year will revolve around top prospect Andrew Painter and whether or not he will start this season as the team’s No. 5 starter.

He continues to headline prospect lists across all major publications and according to MLB Pipeline, Painter is the best right-handed pitching prospect in the sport. His good friend and fellow Phillies prospect Mick Abel was also ranked in the top 10 at No. 9.

In a separate polling of MLB executives, Painter was voted the best pitching prospect in baseball.

Painter, 19, could be the first teenager since Mark Davis in 1980 to throw a pitch for the Phillies if he makes the rotation out of spring training. The Phillies have stayed consistent in their preference to allocate one rotation spot to a “youngster.” Bailey Falter and Cristopher Sanchez are in the mix for that spot along with Painter, Abel and Griff McGarry.

In his first full season as a professional, Painter pitched to a 1.56 ERA across three levels of the minor leagues. He finished the season with Double-A Reading and while he allowed five runs in his last outing against Altoona, that was perhaps the only time last season where Painter did not dominate the competition.

The Phillies will have to monitor his innings if he does begin the regular season with the Phillies since they would hope to have him available for a possible playoff run in October. It’s a great sign that Painter eclipsed the 100 inning mark in his first full season. The Phillies could build off that number and gradually increase his workload early in his career.

Sam Dykstra of MLB Pipeline wrote that out of the 10 right-handed prospects, Painter has the best control and highest ceiling:

The 2021 13th overall pick gave everyone a taste of his ceiling with a 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 155 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings across those three levels in his first full season, and he has the stuff to back up the results with a fastball that can touch triple-digits, a plus high-spin slider and two more pitches in his curve and change that keep hitters guessing. That’s just the start. Painter only turns 20 in April and likely has some development ahead of him still. Be scared, National League East.

MLB Pipeline‘s Sam Dykstra on Andrew Painter’s ceiling.

The Phillies have some work to do on the position player side, but it’s a good sign that the Phillies farm system has two of the ten best right handed pitching prospects in MLB.