Philly Leader

Andrew Painter, a promising pitcher for Glendale, showcased his skills in the Arizona Fall League on Thursday. Returning from Tommy John surgery in 2023, Painter demonstrated an enhanced pitching arsenal that contributed to Glendale's 9-6 victory over Salt River at Salt River Fields.

Painter delivered three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out three batters. His performance marked his first scoreless outing since September 2022 and was his longest appearance this fall. Of his 32 pitches, 26 were strikes.

The 22-year-old right-hander reached speeds of up to 99.2 mph with his fastball and maintained an average speed of 97.1 mph during the game. In addition to his fastball, Painter effectively used six curveballs ranging from 80-82 mph.

A new pitch in Painter's repertoire has attracted attention: a slider described by Painter as having "the same pitch, same grip, just a different thought process." He explained that he uses it differently depending on the count and batter.

During Spring Training in 2023, Painter began using a harder breaking ball which led to speculation about him joining the Major League roster at age 19. However, he clarified that he was working with two types of sliders but has since focused on one.

Painter discussed the challenges of developing this new pitch amid injury recovery: “It was honestly really good early on throughout mound work... I just had to trust it and roll with it.”

His slider now serves as a bridge between his high-90s fastball and low-90s breaking ball. The movement profile typically ranges from six to ten inches horizontally with minimal vertical break.

Salt River struggled against Painter’s cutters during Thursday's game; four resulted in called strikes while another induced a swing-and-miss.

Catcher Jordan Dissin worked with Painter for the second time this fall and expressed confidence in his abilities: “That's Andrew Painter... That's nothing less than what I expect to happen every time that I catch him.”

In three starts this fall, Painter has allowed three earned runs over seven innings while striking out seven batters and walking only one. He plans to extend his workload aiming for twenty innings before the league concludes.

“If he can have the stuff he had today for six innings,” Dissin noted, “I think a lot of people are going to be happy.”