PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter is set on Friday to make a minor league start for the first time since 2022 in his recovery from elbow surgery.
Painter, who turns 22 this week, hurt his right elbow during spring training in 2023 and had Tommy John surgery later that year.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander made six starts and allowed four runs in the Arizona Fall League. He struck out 18 batters in 15 2/3 innings after he sat out each of the past two seasons.
Painter is still the seventh-ranked overall prospect in baseball.
Painter sprinted through Philadelphia’s system in 2022, going 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 26 appearances spread across two Class A teams and Double-A Reading.
Painter will pitch Friday for the Class A Clearwater Threshers. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Sunday he expected Painter to throw about two innings in the start.
The Phillies planned to let Painter ease back into the rotation in the minor leagues and he could make his major league debut at some point in the summer.
“We’re going to be conservative and make sure we take care of him,” Thomson said.
Painter was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus.
