With minor-league seasons coming to a close, the Phillies announced the recipients of the 2022 Paul Owens Award, presented annually to their top minor-league position player and pitcher.
The winners -- Darick Hall and Andrew Painter -- have dramatically different backstories.
Hall is a 27-year-old DH/first baseman who unexpectedly played an important role in the majors this summer when Bryce Harper went down with a broken thumb on June 25. Hall spent 37 games with the Phillies and hit a more-than-respectable .264 with a .550 slugging percentage. He did damage with nine homers, eight doubles and a triple in 135 plate appearances.
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The former 14th-round pick has never been a Top 100 prospect but hit for power at every level to earn a big-league opportunity. Once he arrived, he made the most of it. Hall has 26 homers and 83 RBI at Triple A this season. Combined with his stint in the bigs, he's hit 35 homers and driven in 99 runs in 540 plate appearances in 2022. The Triple A season ends on September 28.
"Darick is having a tremendous year," Phillies director of player development Preston Mattingly said. "With his work ethic, which is second to none, he continues to improve at all aspects of his game. We were thrilled for him to get an opportunity to play in the big leagues this year. We think the best of Darick is yet to come."
Painter, who turns 20 next April, is a highly-touted first-round pick from 2021 who is going to rocket up prospect lists this winter and next spring. His 2022 season was one of the best ever for a Phillies minor-league pitcher. In 22 starts and 103⅔ innings, he pitched to a 1.56 ERA and 0.89 WHIP while striking out 155 batters and walking 25. He dominated at Low A, High A and Double A, seeming to lock in more with each promotion. In five starts at Double A to end his season, Painter had a 2.54 ERA with 37 strikeouts and two walks.
The No. 25 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, Painter is in rare company with his ERA and strikeout total this season. He's the only pitcher at any minor-league level in 2022 with so low an ERA and that many K's, and the first in the Phillies' system since Cole Hamels in 2003.
MLB
"Andrew has had a special year all around," Mattingly said. "From the moment he reported to camp, he showed the type of competitor he is and how hard he works. He carried that throughout the season. Obviously, we are proud of Andrew's numbers, which speak for themselves, but we are also proud of the way he has matured as a person."
Hall and Painter will receive their awards Thursday night prior to the Phillies' series opener against the Braves.
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