After getting demoted to the minor leagues, Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter tweaked his arsenal, including the addition of a new pitch that baffled the St. Louis Cardinals in his most recent win.
Painter unveiled a changeup in his big-league comeback at the end of July. He ditched his splitter and replaced it with the new offspeed pitch. Painter’s changeup has a massive 40.6% whiff rate. It has yet to allow a hit over three starts. Painter has allowed two earned runs or fewer in the trio of appearances.
“It’s three in a row that he’s thrown the ball well since he came back [from the Minors], so that’s obviously a positive for us,” interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters, including Jeff Jones of MLB.com. “That was something that the team needed right there, and for him to come through in that spot is really good for him and good for our club.”
Painter no-hit the Cardinals through five innings on Monday, August 10. He stumbled a bit in the sixth inning, but still finished with a solid line of two earned runs on two hits and three walks across 5.1 IP.
Philadelphia Phillies Starter Andrew Painter Solidifying Rotation Spot With New Pitch
Painter posted a brutal 7.06 ERA through 12 starts to open the season. Philadelphia demoted him to the minors after the Miami Marlins hammered him for six earned runs over two innings in mid-June. Painter didn’t pitch particularly well after getting sent down. He recorded a 4.56 ERA through five starts at Triple-A. The repertoire changes may have been to blame for the uneven performance. Painter has obviously figured it out since returning to the majors.
The former top prospect earned a rotation spot out of Spring Training. He took the No. 5 starter job on a team with minimal starting pitching depth. Zack Wheeler eventually returned, but the club jettisoned veteran Taijuan Walker. Painter’s demotion left the organization potentially in need of another arm heading into the trade deadline. Apparently, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski saw enough in Painter’s first start back to trust him with the last rotation spot moving forward.
Painter has rewarded Dombrowski’s faith through three appearances. He has a 2.93 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning in his second stint with the Phillies. The righty completely nixed the splitter and has largely eliminated his curveball. Painter pared down an arsenal that used to feature six pitches to just four offerings. He’s prioritized the four-seamer, sweeper, and changeup in these three starts, while mixing in the slider.
Painter’s Changeup is a Legitimate Weapon
Painter has leaned on the changeup more than 25% of the time in each of his last two starts. It sits at 90.1 mph with more drop and less horizontal break than average. The pitch shape doesn’t look wildly different from a traditional splitter, but Painter is throwing the new offering about 3 mph harder than his old split-finger.
The changeup was responsible for three of Painter’s six strikeouts against the Cardinals. It’s already racked up seven punchouts since making its debut against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, July 31. Painter’s changeup has already recorded 3 Run Value. It’s currently Painter’s only positive pitch by that metric.
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