Written By: Matt Heckman
Follow Him on Twitter: @Heckman_Matt115
Follow Prospects Worldwide on Twitter:@ProspectsWorldW
Andrew Painter | Jersey Shore BlueClaws | 19-Years-Old | Bats: R | Throws: R | 6’7″ | 215 lbs | ETA: 2023
| FB | CB | SL | CH | Control | Role |
| 60 | 55 | 60 | 55 | 70 | 8 |
Fastball: 60
Painter’s 6’7” frame is intimidating on the mound. He follows that up with a fastball that consistently sits in the mid to upper 90s. He typically settles around 95-96, but has shown the ability to get up to 98 at times. Throughout the minor leagues, Painter has gone right after hitters and overpowers them with his fastball. The best part about Painter’s fastball is that it is not just fast, but also has great movement and spin on the pitch. Painter’s fastball has a chance to be a dominating pitch for him throughout his career.
Curveball: 55
Painter possesses two above average breaking balls, including a 12/6 curveball. It pairs nicely with his fastball and generates serious break. Painter’s curveball is a swing-and-miss pitch sitting in the mid-to-upper 70s and is effective getting lefties out. He controls the pitch well even if he doesn’t use it as much as his other pitches but profiles to be above-average.
Slider: 60
The curveball is Painter’s out pitch for lefties, while his sweeping slider is his go to for right-handed batters. Throughout his development, Painter has relied on this pitch heavily to get righties to swing and miss and it pairs nicely with his fastball since it looks similar coming out of his hand. Painter seems to have already mastered that skill as the tunneling on this pitch is remarkably like that of his fastball. The pitch sits in the mid 80s and is definitely his best secondary offering. He is still working on perfecting the pitch to lefties, but as soon as he can do that there is not much stopping him.
Changeup: 55
Of Painter’s three secondaries, he relies on the changeup the least. The pitch still profiles as above average and is a pitch he is working to perfect. The changeup is helpful in keeping hitters off his fastball and has a bit of run to the pitch which helps fool lefties. Painter has demonstrated excellent abilities to perfect his other two breaking pitches and adding a changeup only raises his ceiling.
Control: 70
Painter has control that is rare to see from somebody with as explosive stuff as he has. Painter controls all four of his pitches and has limited the walks at every minor league level he has touched. Painter can locate his breaking pitches to generate chases and swing and miss while also attacking hitters with strikes early in the count. Although some scouts worry about his size impacting his control, he has given no reason for anybody to be concerned at this point. His command looks nearly flawless and I expect him to maintain this level of control throughout his career.
Dynasty Value:
There is no doubt in my mind that Painter is a generational pitcher. He boasts a great fastball, three above-average or better secondary’s, and nearly elite control. Painter is my second ranked pitching prospect only behind Grayson Rodriguez, and Painter might have the higher ceiling of the two. Painter has been flying through the minor leagues and is still only 19 years old. He is as close to a can’t miss prospect as there is in my eyes and has elite dynasty value. There is a strong chance Painter will even hold redraft value in 2023! I expect the Phillies to be aggressive with Painter and if they believe he is ready they will not hesitate to call him up. K:BB ratio is an excellent stat to look at when determining if a pitcher is ready for a promotion and by the looks of that he could easily make his big-league debut in 2023!
Follow us on Twitter @ProspectsWorldW
SUBSCRIBE To our YouTube channel! For amateur and Minor League prospects
