Philadelphia Phillies Superstar Prospect Continues to Impress in Arizona Fall League

After finally returning to the mound after an extended absence, the Philadelphia Phillies are seeing their superstar prospect shine in the Arizona Fall League.

Detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove in the dugout / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are keeping a keen eye on what is taking place at the Arizona Fall League.

Not only are some of their top prospects competing in this event who could be potentially used as trade chips this winter, but they also sent Andrew Painter to the AFL so he could return to the mound in a competitive game for the first time since 2022.

Once viewed as the No. 1 pitching prospect in all of minor league baseball, he has been out of sight, out of mind since undergoing Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss the past two seasons.

Painter was mentioned as someone who could potentially be the fifth starter next year by Dave Dombrowski, although the executive did state the youngster would be on a pitch limit.

But getting him reps in the Arizona Fall League is the first step to having him compete for a spot in Spring Training, and with two appearances now under his belt, he is reminding people just how good he is now that he's back in action.

"He threw again on Friday, a two-inning outing that served not just as a proof of life but as a reminder of why he was at one point the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. Painter was 96-98 with excellent carry on the pitch, reaching 21 inches of vertical break. He showed both a slider and curveball that each flashed plus but were both inconsistent ... His delivery looked good with no real concerns about his ability to repeat it, and it looked like lower effort for that kind of velocity ... the good news is he's back to the potential No. 1 starter he was back in 2022 and now just has to build back up and stay off the IL," Keith Law of The Athletic wrote after seeing Painter.

It was revealed here that the star prospect had an up and down outing in his first action since returning from Tommy John surgery, but how did he do in his second appearance?

Much better.

Painter went two innings, allowing two hits and an earned run while also striking out two batters.

After giving up two straight singles to begin his outing, the right-hander retired the next six hitters to end his day of work. Like Law highlighted, the velocity was there, maxing out at 98.3 mph on his 20 fastballs thrown while also gunning in sliders that were in the mid-80s.

26 of his 33 pitches were thrown for strikes, and just like he did during his first AFL appearance, he was able to find a rhythm after starting slowly so he could cruise through the rest of his outing.

This is a great sign for the Phillies and the development of Painter going forward as he looks to become the ace of this staff one day like he was projected to be back when he was taken 13th overall in the 2021 draft.