The Philadelphia Phillies have a loaded starting rotation.
Led by perennial Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler and workhorse ace Aaron Nola at the top, they now have rising star Jesus Luzardo behind them and the homegrown duo of Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez who have done nothing but impress since getting called up.
That five will be one of the best units in Major League Baseball, but it stands to get even better later in the summer when Andrew Painter is promoted for his highly-anticipated MLB debut.
The right-hander is one of the best prospects in the sport, let alone at his position, and after Painter underwent Tommy John surgery that put him out of sight, out of mind for the past two seasons, he reminded everyone of his upside during this year’s Arizona Fall League.
If everything goes according to plan, the Phillies will have the emerging star with them for the second half of the season, boosting an already elite rotation when the team needs pitching the most.
To help prepare the star prospect for his first experience against big league hitters in an MLB setting, franchise legend Cole Hamels took Painter under his wing during camp when he was a guest instructor.
Per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Hamels showed Painter the changeup grip that propelled him to four All-Star teams, four Top 10 finishes in Cy Young voting and an MVP and NLCS MVP trophy in his mantel.
Painter wanted to pick the brain of the man who was one of the best pitchers in franchise history, and Hamels wanted to get a better idea of how the rising star wants to put together his arsenal of pitches.
“He’s very receptive. He knows that he’s going to be known for a high-powered fastball. It’s just what he can learn down here to practice before he gets up there. And just understanding the weapons in his arsenal and then how to actually execute it,” Hamels said to Zolecki.
It’s not a given Painter will be able to add that type of changeup to his pitch mix.
He said he played around with things in the AFL but didn’t necessarily like how his changeup profiled during that time, so he’s going to use camp to play around with the grip that Hamels showed him, something that could be a devastating pair with his overwhelming fastball if he can get comfortable throwing it.
Philadelphia will invite their franchise great back in March to be the guest instructor again.
He will undoubtedly revisit the conversation he had with Painter and see if there’s any more advice he can pass along to the star prospect before he gets his season underway.
