Despite struggles, Phils won't skip Painter's next start

PHILADELPHIA -- It was Andrew Painter's fastball that had him knocking on the door to the big leagues at just 19 years old -- and one of the game's best hitters predicting he was bound for stardom.

Fast forward three years, and that same offering is now perhaps the biggest concern -- albeit not the only one -- as a 23-year-old Painter navigates a tough start to his MLB career.

Painter's rocky rookie season hit a low point in the first inning of Saturday afternoon's 6-3 loss to the White Sox at Citizens Bank Park. The righty threw 42 pitches in a four-run opening frame in which he struggled to command any of his pitches -- particularly that troublesome fastball.

Painter, who has been throwing his four-seamer much less in recent outings due to its ineffectiveness, threw 11 of them in the first inning. Only two were in the zone. The other nine were not remotely close.

From there, Painter nearly abandoned the pitch altogether. Although he went on to throw another 51 pitches, only four were four-seam fastballs. Three of those four missed the zone.

The other ended up in the seats.

“It’s tough. It's tough,” Painter said. “I think we made some adjustments after that first inning, and kind of got away from the four-seam. Wasn't in the zone with it, so any pitch you're not in the zone with is not gonna be very effective.”

The final tally on Painter's four-seamer Saturday: 10 balls, one hit batter, one home run, two foul balls and one swing-and-miss. Zero outs.

Overall, opposing batters are now hitting .390 (32-for-82) with four home runs against Painter's four-seamer.

"Just hard to command the ball with that pitch when I don't really know what the pitch is going to do,” Painter said.

There were a few good outings in late May before his season-low 3 1/3-inning start last Sunday against the Dodgers.

Aaron Nola has made a similar alteration to his pitch mix in recent weeks, but it's not the same. Even at his best, Nola -- best known for his curveball -- was pumping his fastball in at around 93 mph.

It's not quite as easy to abandon a fastball that has topped out at 98.9 mph this season -- and hit 100 mph in the Minors last year even after Tommy John surgery.

"Fastball's got to stay in the mix -- he's throwing it 97 mph," interim manager Don Mattingly said before the game. "It's got to stay in the mix."

It was nearly impossible to keep it in the mix against the White Sox after the way it looked in the first inning.

Saturday's setback left Painter with a 6.21 ERA through his first dozen outings. The only Phillies pitchers with an ERA that high through their first 12 career outings (with at least 10 as a starter) are Carlton Loewer in 1998 and Jack Hamilton in 1962.

Like Painter, Loewer was a first-round pick (1994) and a highly touted prospect in the Phillies organization. He looked dominant in a complete-game victory in his MLB debut on June 14, 1998, but went on to make only 48 career appearances across four seasons before ending his MLB career with a 6.12 ERA.

Obviously, the Phillies do not expect a similar outcome for Painter long term. Short term, however, there are few options outside of letting him work through it.

It's no secret the Phillies have a lack of pitching depth outside of the big league rotation. Perhaps the only real option at Triple-A Lehigh Valley at the moment is Alan Rangel, who has a 3.81 ERA this season and has been serviceable in six Major League appearances (zero starts) over the past two years.

Beyond Rangel, there's Bryse Wilson (6.66 ERA), Tucker Davidson (6.47 ERA), Ryan Cusick (5.80 ERA) and Chuck King (4.63 ERA). Jean Cabrera had a 9.32 ERA before being demoted to Double-A, where he has a 12.21 ERA in four starts.

Within the last few weeks, the Phillies signed both Drake Fellows and Brian Keller to Minor League contracts. Fellows was released by the Yankees in Spring Training, while Keller last pitched professionally in Japan in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

With an off-day Thursday, though, would the Phillies consider skipping Painter’s turn through the rotation?

“Not really,” Mattingly said. “I think the situation we're in with our starters, we don't sit here with four or five guys in Triple-A that you can bring up at any time and fill in a spot. We want to make sure we take care of all our starters with those off-days.”