The Phillies have made quick work of the top end of their 2021 draft class, announcing that they have come to terms with all 11 of their picks through the draft’s first 11 rounds. This includes first-round pick Andrew Painter, the high school right-hander selected 13th overall. No financial terms were announced for any of the signings — the 13th overall selection has an assigned slot price of $4,197,300.
Baseball America ranked Painter 15th on its list of prospects in this year’s draft class, while MLB Pipeline and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each had Painter 18th, FanGraphs 22nd and The Athletic’s Keith Law put the righty in 24th. As McDaniel notes, the additional risk involved in drafting high school pitchers might be the only red flag against Painter, since “basically everything Painter…does grades as a 55 or 60, and the frame, delivery and feel all check out.”
To that point, Pipeline and BA’s grades give high marks to Painter’s four-pitch arsenal, headlined by a fastball that sits in the 93-97 mph range and is already considered a plus pitch. There could be more potential for future velocity since the 18-year-old is already either 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7 and weighs between 210-230 pounds. Painter’s control is also very highly regarded, which Baseball America notes is something of a rarity for a high school arm.
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