Andrew Painter was dialed in Lehigh Valley, strikes out 7, dominant Triple-A start

Don’t look now, but Andrew Painter might be knocking on the door again.

In his third Triple-A start for Lehigh Valley, the Phillies’ top prospect and MLB’s No. 5 overall prospect put on a show — striking out a season-high seven batters while pitching into the fifth inning.

It was the best Painter has looked since joining the IronPigs, and it’s clear the strikeout pitch is starting to click.

Painter tossed 71 pitches and racked up 7 K as his fastball and cutter were nasty all night. He cruised through his first three innings without allowing a hit, showing the elite fastball-command-and-slider combo that made him a phenom before his Tommy John surgery.

Andrew Painter Dialed: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Andrew Painter (@Phillies) utilizes his full arsenal as he strikes out 7 in 4+ innings for the Triple-A @IronPigs. pic.twitter.com/LiCRe9GET4
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 22, 2025

Andrew Painter is going to be a problem at Citizens Bank Park.

Painter’s fastball was moving like it had somewhere else to be:

96.5 mph avg / T98.3
18.2″ IVB avg / Max 20.6″
-5.5° VAA
6.8’ yRP (release point)
31.8% Whiff | 44.4% Chase

That fastball that not only misses bats — it eats hitters alive. His best heater of the night came on this filthy K: 97.0 mph, 20.5″ IVB, -4.8° VAA.

It wasn’t just heat. Painter’s overall line included a 33.3% whiff rate, 44.1% chase rate, and a 32.4% CSW (called + swinging strikes). That’s top-tier stuff. He held hitters completely off balance and showed off a feel for mixing the cutter and slider as well.

The Big Picture is very encouraging for Andrew Painter.

Painter hit a speed bump in the fourth, giving up two hits and a run, and then allowed a leadoff triple in the fifth before being lifted at 71 pitches (49 strikes).

Still, this wasn’t just an encouraging step forward — it was a “get the locker ready at CBP” kind of night. If he keeps building pitch count and throwing with this kind of command, it won’t be long before he’s mowing down lineups in South Philly.

Painter now owns a 2.25 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings since his promotion to Triple-A. He looks sharper with each outing, mixing in that hammer curve and pumping the upper-90s heat with more confidence.

At just 22 years old, the Phillies are wisely easing him back — but the stuff is starting to look like big-league-caliber again. No reason to rush, but if Painter keeps this up, Citizens Bank Park could be seeing the 6-foot-7 righty sometime later this summer.