Philadelphia Phillies Prized Prospect Takes Huge Step in Injury Recovery

The Philadelphia Phillies, who enter play on Wednesday at 45-39 and winners of seven of their last 10, got some good news down on the farm on Wednesday.

Prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter threw a bullpen as he ramps up from an elbow injury suffered in spring training.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Painter (elbow) threw a bullpen session at the Phillies' spring training complex in Florida on Wednesday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

ANALYSIS
Painter had to be scratched from a throwing session earlier this week due to stiffness in his right elbow, so it's a great sign that he's already back on the mound. "We'll see how he comes in the next day or two," said manager Rob Thomson. It's not clear when Painter might be ready for a rehab assignment, but the team is still holding out hope that he can be an option for their rotation later this season. He's working his way back from a partially torn UCL.

If he's able to contribute down the stretch in either the rotation or the bullpen, he'd be a major boost for a team that got to the World Series a year ago.

He is the No. 1 prospect in the organization and the No. 10 prospect in all of baseball. The 20-year-old was a first-round pick of the Phillies in the 2021 draft out of the high school ranks.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com profile:

Painter has become one of the best pitching prospects in the game thanks to his combination of his size (6-foot-7), stuff and command. He has a four-pitch mix, with three of them having the potential to be plus offerings. It starts with a fastball that now touches triple digits and was averaging over 96 mph even at the end of his first full season, and he can sink a two-seamer as well as elevate a four-seamer with good spin rates up in the zone to miss bats.

At the time of this posting, the Phillies lead the Rays, 5-4, in the bottom of the fifth inning.