Philadelphia Phillies Send Their Superstar Pitching Prospect to Arizona Fall League

One of the best prospects in the Philadelphia Phillies pipeline is making his return in the Arizona Fall League.

Feb 23, 2023; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter (76) during photo day at BayCare Ballpark / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies kept their World Series dream alive with their incredible roller coaster win on Sunday that evened the NLDS matchup at one game apiece.

With this championship window being open for the time being, there aren't a whole lot of fans thinking about the future when it comes to the top prospects in the organization and when they might make their MLB debuts.

However, with the Phillies focusing more on the development of their farm system, there are plenty of youngsters who look like they could be the next great players for this franchise.

Perhaps that starts with their superstar pitching prospect Andrew Painter.

After once being the hot name in the minor league ranks, the Tommy John surgery he underwent in July 2023 has prevented him from throwing a pitching during a competitive game in two years, but after the long wait, he'll be making his return to the mound this fall.

According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Philadelphia is sending Painter to the Arizona Fall League so he can face hitters before the offseason where he'll ramp up for Spring Training to make his case to get a rotation spot.

Taken No. 13 overall in the 2021 draft out of high school, the right-hander was utterly dominant in his first full season of professional baseball the following year when he posted a 1.56 ERA in 22 starts with 155 strikeouts across 103.2 innings pitched.

Painter made it to Double-A to close out that season in 2022. He started five games and only gave up eight earned runs in 28.1 innings while also striking out 37 batters and walking just two.

That catapulted him to stardom, taking over the top spot in the Phillies' pipeline and climbing all the way up to No. 6 in all of the minors.

Unfortunately, no one really quite knows what to expect from him following the long layoff.

Painter was seen as a future ace of Philadelphia's staff, causing fans to dream about a three-headed monster with him alongside Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

That could still happen in 2025.

The Phillies are trying to figure out what to do with their fifth rotation spot after Taijuan Walker had the worst season of his career and the other young pitchers they turned to struggled to produce results. Because of that, they are kicking around the idea of Painter getting called up at some point on a limited basis to be part of the starting unit.

For that to happen, though, he has to prove he's healthy and effective.

The Arizona Fall League will go a long way in getting him ready for action in 2025.