The Philadelphia Phillies’ Andrew Painter experiment has not worked out. Against the Miami Marlins, the rookie right-hander faltered, giving up six runs in two innings. After 14 appearances in 2026, he now has a 7.06 ERA and 5.51 FIP.
Painter has now given up at least four runs in four consecutive games. Over his last 15 innings, he has given up seven long balls, making him especially prone to home runs.
The Phillies must be considering whether Painter is their best choice as their No. 5 starter as his difficulties worsen. The team is 3-10 when the rookie takes the mound, making him the only starter with a losing record.
After a terrible 9-19 start to the season, the Phillies have recovered. Since Don Mattingly became the interim manager on April 28, they have a 31-14 record. Even while the squad has improved as a whole, Painter’s starts have made it difficult for them to play competitively.
Matt Gelb, a beat reporter for the Phillies, has taken notice of his difficulties and is speculating about whether the right-hander’s next start will be in Major League Baseball.
Why is Andrew Painter Struggling
Andrew Painter’s problem stems from his incapacity to miss bats and his persistent loss of loud contact. He had a season strikeout percentage of 17.5% going into this start against the Marlins. Additionally, he produced a barrel rate of 9.0%.
The absence of a good fastball is the main problem. Despite its speed of 96.5 mph, it has been severely damaged. Against Painter’s four-seamer, the opposition is batting at a rate of.382 with a slugging percentage of.573. He is only creating a two-strike putaway rate of 7.4% and a whiff rate of 10.9%.
Inconsistent command has made the fastball issues worse. He has given up 14 home runs in his last 11 outings and is frequently leaving pitches in the middle of the strike zone. Painter has given up home runs on five of his six pitches, so it’s not just one pitch.
His inability to control the fastball became apparent during his start against the Marlins. The two best power hitters in Miami’s lineup, Owen Caissie and Kyle Stowers, were given two four-seamers in the exact center of the strike zone. Both sluggers destroyed the pitch for home runs, as was to be expected.
The Phillies cannot add an outside player to the rotation at this time. The right-hander’s difficulties undoubtedly make it more important for them to add a starter before the deadline.
However, the organization needs to think about replacing him in the rotation right now. They not only lose when Painter starts, but he also blows them away. The Phillies should send him down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and bring up another starter to take his place in the rotation since things have become that bad.
The sole healthy starter on the 40-man roster in Triple-A right now is Alan Rangel. Although they are pitching for Double-A Reading, Jean Cabrera and Alex McFarlane are also on the 40-man roster. Cabrera is probably not a viable choice given that his difficulties in Triple-A led to a demotion.
They have relied as much as possible on Andrew Painter due to the lack of organizational pitching depth. However, they must question how long they can keep sending him out there.
