Andrew Painter shows off new pitch, dominates across 3 innings in Arizona Fall League start

Andrew Painter’s continued his revenge tour last night in his latest Arizona Fall League start and honestly, it felt like a flashback to his dominant 2022 campaign, where he put up zeroes in half of his 22 outings and cruised to a 1.56 ERA across three levels in the Phillies’ minor league system.

Painter’s outing was rock-solid. He threw three shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three in Glendale’s 9-6 win over Salt River at Salt River Fields.

It was his first scoreless outing in a competitive setting since his Double-A start on September 9, 2022. He looked sharp, throwing 26 of his 32 pitches for strikes, and this three-inning stint was his longest of the fall after back-to-back two-inning starts.

Andrew Painter: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Andrew Painter touches 99.2 mph as he spins his first scoreless start of the fall:
3 IP
1 H
0 R
0 BB
3 K
32 pitches; 26 strikes@Phillies | @PhilsPlayerDev | @MLBazFallLeague pic.twitter.com/Cg91vPr1wc

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 24, 2024

Painter’s fastball was electric, touching 99.2 mph while averaging 97.1 mph—an uptick from the 96.8 mph he showed in a previous appearance with the Desert Dogs in June.

He also mixed in some 80-82 mph curveballs, adding a wrinkle that helped him work low in the zone. With Salt River sending up eight righties in their lineup, Painter didn’t even bother with the changeup.

But the most interesting part of Painter’s arsenal might be the new pitch he’s been working on—a nasty, upper-80s slider that has people talking in Arizona.

“It’s a slider,” Painter said. “Same grip, just a different mindset. The slower version is more of a strike pitch, but with two strikes, I’m trying to go glove-side to righties or in on lefties. It’s the same grip, but I’m throwing it like a heater.” [MLB]

Painter first started throwing this harder slider during 2023 Spring Training, when whispers began about him possibly making the Phillies’ Opening Day roster as a teenager.

At the time, Scott Kingery even told The Athletic that he thought Painter was throwing a cutter—but that wasn’t entirely accurate. Painter was actually experimenting with two slider types: one in the upper 80s with a harder bite and another with more sweep in the low 80s. But now, that slower, sweeping version is gone.

“It’s not in the mix anymore,” Painter said bluntly.

The road back from Tommy John was tough enough without trying to master a new pitch. Painter admitted there were moments of doubt along the way.

“It felt good early on in bullpens, but I started second-guessing it,” Painter said. “I was constantly fiddling with grips, trying to get it perfect. Eventually, I had to just trust it. There wasn’t a big crowd during live BP sessions, so I could really focus on honing it. Watching the video helped me dial it in, too.” [MLB]

The new slider is designed to sit in the gap between Painter’s high-90s fastball and his low-90s breaking ball, offering hard, late movement. It typically registers around 6-10 inches of horizontal movement with a vertical break of 0-5 inches.

“We’re aiming for hard and late movement,” he said. “I want it to look like a fastball out of my hand and tunnel with the heater for as long as possible.” [MLB]

Salt River hitters had trouble picking it up on Thursday. Painter threw seven sliders in total, ranging from 85.7 mph to 89.8 mph. Four of them were called strikes, one drew a swing-and-miss, and the only one that was put in play was a harmless flyout to right field.

Phillies catching prospect Jordan Dissin was behind the plate for Painter’s outing, marking the first time they’ve paired up in game action. Painter’s extended recovery meant that Dissin hadn’t had a chance to catch him until the AFL. But judging by the way Painter was throwing, Dissin probably knew exactly what he was going to get—lots of zeroes, just like old times.

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