Andrew

Painter

Painter avoided serious trouble in the first inning, pitching a scoreless frame despite allowing two runners to reach base. He would retire all three batters he faced in the second inning, but in the bottom of the third, the rookie allowed back-to-back hits to Eli White and Ronald Acuña to kick off the inning, with Acuña’s hit coming in the form of a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2. Painter would fall victim to a two-RBI double by Michael Harris in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Phillies down 4-2, and was pulled later in the inning after walking Acuña. The five earned runs allowed by Painter were the most in any game this season, while his lone strikeout tied a season-low. He’ll make one more start this month when he takes the mound on Thursday against the Giants.

It was one run through four before the fifth started with back-to-back singles from Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. He was pulled then, and both runners came around to score in a three-run inning. Painter struck out four and walked one in the first four innings. He’s not ready to emerge as a big-time fantasy starter at age 23, but he’s held his own with a 4.42 ERA and a nice 20/4 K/BB in 18 1/3 innings over four appearances. He’s due to face the Braves again next weekend, making him a weak play in shallow leagues.

Manager Rob Thomson said he wanted to break up his two righties, but that means that Painter will be on a full week’s rest since his last performance was also on Sunday. Sánchez will now be pitching on regular rest.

Painter was actually scratched from the start due to a migraine, only to enter in the third inning and dominate from that point onward. He scattered three hits and one walk on the afternoon, with the lone tally against him coming on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nolan Arenado in the sixth. He generated 14 whiffs on 80 pitches on the day — five of those on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 36 percent. He’ll carry a 3.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 16/3 K/BB ratio (14 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Braves.

Zach Pop will start in his place in what will end up being a bullpen game for the Phillies. Expect Painter to slot back into the Phillies’ rotation at some point next week.

After an impressive first start of his MLB career, Painter wasn’t nearly as effective against San Francisco. He allowed nine hits, and after fanning eight Nationals in that debut, he struck out one while generating only four swings-and-misses. It wasn’t a case of down velocity — he averaged 96.8 mph with his four-same fastball, up 0.1 from the previous outing — but he just didn’t fool the San Francisco lineup at all. He’ll look to rebound against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

it took longer than anticipated, but Painter’s MLB debut was awfully impressive; even when considering the Nationals aren’t exactly the toughest lineup in the sport. Painter allowed just four hits and one walk, and didn’t have a run charged to him until the sixth. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.7 mph and he threw several pitches above 98, and he generated nine swings and misses among his 84 offerings. Painter will be back on the bump and look to build on this effort against the Giants on Monday.

This just makes official what’s been obvious for weeks. Crawford will start in center field and hit ninth against righties. He’ll probably get a fair amount of time versus lefties, too, at least initially. He actually did a little better against them (.250/.286/.400) than versus righties (.250/.294/.313) this spring. Painter is expected to make his major league debut Tuesday against the Nationals.

Wheeler will open the season on the injured list to continue building up his pitch count and stamina in advance of his season debut, which is likely to come before the end of April.
The 35-year-old veteran fantasy ace will likely require a handful of rehab outings before he’s ready to rejoin Philadelphia’s rotation. He’s a top 25-30 range fantasy starter in remaining drafts this spring. His absence gives top prospect Andrew Painter some additional runway to prove he belongs at the highest level following a strong performance in spring training.

That had been a foregone conclusion for a while now, but is now official. The bigger question will be whether he or Taijuan Walker gets bumped once Zack Wheeler (shoulder) is ready to return. Cristopher Sanchez will work on Opening Day for the Phillies and will be followed by Aaron Nola. Jesus Luzardo, Walker and Painter in that order.