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PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew Painter bounced back from a couple of rocky performances in a big way on Sunday afternoon.
The Phillies' top prospect struck out six and allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings in Triple-A Lehigh Valley's 4-1 win over Worcester -- the same team that had just tagged Painter for six runs in five innings on Tuesday. Prior to Sunday, Painter had allowed 10 earned runs and four homers over nine innings in his previous two starts.
"It's all part of growth," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "So, at times, that can be a good thing. He's going to have bad starts here and there."
While that last part is obviously true, it's also an entirely new experience for the 22-year-old Painter.
This is a guy who, as a high-school freshman in 2018, led Team USA to its first 15U World Cup Championship and was subsequently named to the All-World Team. The following year, he had a 1.43 ERA as a sophomore at Calvary Christian Academy. After his junior season was mostly wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Painter racked up a 0.38 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 47 innings in his senior year en route to being named the 2021 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year.
Selected 13th overall by the Phillies that summer, Painter eased into his professional career by striking out 12 and walking zero over six scoreless innings with the Florida Complex League that year. In his first full pro season, he had a 1.56 ERA over 103 2/3 innings across three levels of the Minors, finishing his season at Double-A Reading.
Even after missing the entire 2023 and '24 Minor League seasons due to Tommy John surgery, Painter dominated over six starts in the Arizona Fall League last year.
"A lot of guys go through high school, college and even sometimes the Minor Leagues where they don't have any failure," Thomson said. "And then, all of the sudden, they get to the big leagues and they fail for the first time, and they really don't know how to get out of it."
Needless to say, the Phillies were pleased to see Painter respond so well on Sunday following a couple of rough starts with the IronPigs.
"That's what the Minor Leagues are for," Thomson said.
Though fully healthy, the Phillies intentionally delayed Painter's buildup this year to maximize his potential impact later in the season as opposed to burning through his limited innings before the stretch run.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the club is targeting "July-ish" for Painter's callup, while Thomson's comments have perhaps hinted that it could be, more specifically, following the All-Star break from July 14-17.
But nothing is set in stone.
"I've said it all along," Thomson said. "He's got to be healthy and he's got to be pitching well."
Sunday's start was certainly a step in the right direction.