Phillies Top Prospect Makes Sizable Jump in Recently Updated Rankings

The Philadelphia Phillies already possess arguably the best starting rotation in baseball.

Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo are performing at Cy Young-caliber levels, anchoring the staff. Cristopher Sanchez has shown improvements upon the All-Star campaign he put together in 2024.
Taijuan Walker has been excellent in a bounce back campaign, helping compensate for Ranger Suarez and Aaron Nola both spending time on the injured list.

Even top prospect Mick Abel got in on the action with a historic debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he threw six shutout innings, allowing only five hits and zero walks with nine strikeouts, outdueling Paul Skenes.

It was certainly exciting to see the former first-round pick have such an incredible debut, but he isn’t the only top prospect fans are looking forward to seeing make their Major League debut in 2025.

The team’s No. 1-ranked prospect, starting pitcher Andrew Painter, is expected to make his highly-anticipated landing in the big leagues sometime in the near future.

A first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft out of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he missed the 2023 and 2024 minor league seasons because of injury.

Able to get back onto the mound during the Arizona Fall League a few months ago, Painter showed just how dominant he can be despite less-than-ideal pitching conditions.

Andrew Painter Climbs Up Keith Law's Prospect Rankings

That success has been carried over into the 2025 season, which has led Keith Law of The Athletic (subscription required) to move him up his recently updated top 50 prospect rankings.

In the preseason, Painter was No. 12 on Law’s list.

Now, he sits at No. 5, with only Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, Detroit Tigers center fielder Max Clark, Texas Rangers infielder Sebastian Walcott and Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo ahead of him.

“I just saw Painter pitch in Triple A on a miserable weather night, and he was bumping 98 with a grade-70 curveball, and messing around with a slider that I’m not sure he needs. He’s got all the ingredients to be a front-line starter still, with the big fastball, at least one out-pitch, and a great delivery. He just needs to keep stretching out, and I guess we’ll see if the slider turns into a real weapon for him,” Law wrote.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role the Phillies have for Painter once he is with the Major League team.

His future is as a front end starter, but he will likely be carrying a strict innings limit this year after missing so much time.

He certainly looks ready for the bigs with a 3.09 ERA across 23.1 innings, striking out 27 batters.

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