Fastball Woes Plaguing Phillies RHP Andrew Painter

Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter graduated from prospect status on Sunday, March 31, firing four innings in a 9-1 loss to the Dodgers and crossing the 50-inning threshold.

With 11 appearances (10 starts) in his big league career, the 6-foot-7 flamethrower has displayed an ability to fool batters with his stuff — his chase rate ranks in the 78th percentile — and limit walks. Despite that, he’s struggling to put batters away, striking out just 43 batters across 53.1 innings pitched.

One factor to keep in mind amidst Painter’s shaky start is the impact of who’s behind the dish. In 34.2 innings with JT Realmuto calling the shots, Painter’s ERA sits at a much more manageable 3.89; across 18.2 frames with backup backstops Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán, his ERA skyrockets to 9.16.

Fastball Fundamentals

Another problem for Painter is that he isn’t able to win with his fastball right now. He throws three different variants, a four-seamer (35 percent), a splitter (13.5 percent) and a sinker (10.9 percent). Despite using them roughly half the time, they account for seven of his nine home runs allowed and five of seven doubles. The good news for Painter is that he should be able to remedy one of the biggest issues with his heater through tinkering with his delivery.

Right now, his extension — how far he’s able to project towards home plate while delivering a pitch — sits in the middle of the pack among big league pitchers. That shouldn’t be the case for someone who’s 6-foot-7 and, as such, is a fix well within the realm of possibility.

Releasing the fastball closer to home plate will make his triple digit velocity play like it should… and if he can work off the heater, his other offerings will come around.