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MLB Pipeline ranked Andrew Painter as the best right-handed pitcher candidate in baseball. (Cheryl Purcell)

One of the biggest stories in spring training this year revolves around promising Andrew Painter and whether he starts the season as the team’s fifth starter.

He continues to headline promising lists in all major publications, MLB Pipeline, Painter is a contender for the best right-handed pitcher in the sport. His good friend and fellow Phillies Mick Abel also ranked in the top 10 at No. 9.

In another poll of MLB executives, Painter was named the best pitcher candidate in baseball.

The 19-year-old Painter could be the first teenager to pitch for the Phillies since Mark Davis in 1980 if he’s rotated out of spring training. The Phillies consistently prefer to assign “youngsters” one rotation his spot. Bailey Falter and Christopher Sanchez are in for that spot, along with Painter, Abel, and Griff McGarry.

In his first full season as a pro, Painter pitched to a 1.56 ERA at three levels in the minor leagues. He finished the season in a double-A reading, allowing his five runs in the final against Altoona, but this was probably the only time Painter didn’t dominate the competition last season.

If he starts the regular season with the Phillies, the Phillies will have to watch his innings. Painter surpassed the 100-inning mark in his first full season, and the Phillies were able to build up that number and gradually increase the workload early in his career.

Sam Dykstra MLB Pipeline Of the 10 right-handed prospects, Painter wrote that he had the best control and the best sealing.

The 13th overall pick in 2021 gave everyone a taste of his ceiling with a 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 155 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings in his first full season. A fastball that can reach triple digits, plus a high-spin his slider, plus he adds two types of pitches to his curve, giving hitters a change that keeps them guessing. It’s just the beginning. Painter said he just turned 20 in April and seems to be still developing. Definitely the National League East.

MLB PipelineSam Dykstra painted on the ceiling by Andrew Painter.

The Phillies have some work to do on the position player side, but it’s a good sign that the Phillies farm system has two of the top 10 right-handed prospects in the MLB.

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