The Philadelphia Phillies have a pair of pitchers that are considered among the best right-handed pitchers in baseball, per MLB.com.
The site put together a list of the Top 10 right-handed pitching prospects in the game and both Andrew Painter and the Mick Abel made the list. Painter was ranked No. 4 and Abel was ranked No. 7.
The fact that Painter is No. 4, in spite of the fact that he is unlikely to pitch this year due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery, is a testament to just how good his stuff is when he’s healthy.
Painter was highest-rated among the prospects in control, citing his walk rate of 2.2 per nine innings. MLB executives polled recently rated Painter high in what they called pitchability, or his feel for a game.
In spite of the injury, the Phillies have high expectations for Painter. The first-round pick in 2021 is 6-2 in the minors with a 1.48 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 109.2 innings. He’s walked just 25. He will continue injury rehab with an eye on vying for a rotation spot sometime in 2025.
Abel is another highly-touted prospect in the Phillies organization and he was selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
MLB rated Abel’s curveball among the best of the Top 10 prospects listed. It’s served him well as he rose to Triple-A Lehigh Valley last fall and is poised to make an appearance in Philadelphia. For his minor-league career he is 14-20 with a 4.09 ERA and strikes out 11.1 hitters per nine innings.
Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes was No. 1, followed by Detroit’s Jackson Jobe and the Chicago Cubs’ Cade Horton. After Painter was Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski at No. 5 and Cincinnati’s Rhett Lowder at No. 6. After Abel, Colorado’s Chase Dollander, San Diego’s Dylan Lesko and Miami’s Noble Meyer rounded out the Top 10.
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