Rob Thomson knows the Philadelphia Phillies must be careful with the talented arms they have available in Triple-A, and one of them is Andrew Painter. The young pitcher has been in 26 games this year, most of them with Lehigh Valley, and will no longer be available due to fatigue.
This is how the Phillies’ manager revealed why Painter won’t play any more Triple-A games. It simply comes down to the young pitcher being tired. “He’s tired. To me, he’s had a really good year. He’s come through healthy,” Thomson told Grace Del Pizzo.
For Thomson, Painter’s year has been quite successful, which is also part of the reason for the decision for the pitcher to not play for the rest of the season. Painter finished with a 5.26 ERA in the 26 games he pitched in Triple-A in 2025.
Painter is Honest, and Those Around Him Speak Highly of Him
Andrew Painter knows the season has been somewhat complicated for him, but his goal right now is to keep pushing forward. “Priority No. 1 is being able to take the ball, not missing any starts,” Painter said recently. “The performance stuff, that all comes after that.”
In an article by Charlotte Varnes for The Athletic, pitching coach Matt Ellmyer spoke highly of Painter, saying about one of his recent starts, “From the beginning, there was this sense of calm with him. It was focused, but it was calm. … Seeing that version of him, that I think is pretty normal in previous years, is a huge step in the right direction.”
Another person who spoke well of Painter was Jesus Luzardo. “Even when something might not go his way, it’s not like he’s in the dumps about it,” Luzardo said. “He has a positive outlook as to what happened: ‘Take the positive out of it, and see how I get better.’”