Saturday, August 09

Welcome to the latest edition of the Phillies Beat Newsletter. This version was written by Paul Casella, who has been based in Philadelphia since 2019 and covers the team alongside Todd Zolecki.

PHILADELPHIA -- Andrew Painter bounced back from a couple of rocky performances in a big way on Sunday afternoon.

The Phillies' top prospect struck out six and allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings in Triple-A Lehigh Valley's 4-1 win over Worcester -- the same team that had just tagged Painter for six runs in five innings on Tuesday. Prior to Sunday, Painter had allowed 10 earned runs and four homers over nine innings in his previous two starts.

"It's all part of growth," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "So, at times, that can be a good thing. He's going to have bad starts here and there."

While that last part is obviously true, it's also an entirely new experience for the 22-year-old Painter.

This is a guy who, as a high-school freshman in 2018, led Team USA to its first 15U World Cup Championship and was subsequently named to the All-World Team. The following year, he had a 1.43 ERA as a sophomore at Calvary Christian Academy. After his junior season was mostly wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Painter racked up a 0.38 ERA and 93 strikeouts over 47 innings in his senior year en route to being named the 2021 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year.

Selected 13th overall by the Phillies that summer, Painter eased into his professional career by striking out 12 and walking zero over six scoreless innings with the Florida Complex League that year. In his first full pro season, he had a 1.56 ERA over 103 2/3 innings across three levels of the Minors, finishing his season at Double-A Reading.

Even after missing the entire 2023 and '24 Minor League seasons due to Tommy John surgery, Painter dominated over six starts in the Arizona Fall League last year.

"A lot of guys go through high school, college and even sometimes the Minor Leagues where they don't have any failure," Thomson said. "And then, all of the sudden, they get to the big leagues and they fail for the first time, and they really don't know how to get out of it."

Needless to say, the Phillies were pleased to see Painter respond so well on Sunday following a couple of rough starts with the IronPigs.

"That's what the Minor Leagues are for," Thomson said.

Though fully healthy, the Phillies intentionally delayed Painter's buildup this year to maximize his potential impact later in the season as opposed to burning through his limited innings before the stretch run.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the club is targeting "July-ish" for Painter's callup, while Thomson's comments have perhaps hinted that it could be, more specifically, following the All-Star break from July 14-17.

But nothing is set in stone.

"I've said it all along," Thomson said. "He's got to be healthy and he's got to be pitching well."

Sunday's start was certainly a step in the right direction.

While Painter continues to prep at Triple-A, let's take a look at some more Phillies top prospects making noise at the club's other affiliates:

Double-A: Carson DeMartini (No. 15)
DeMartini was promoted from High-A Jersey Shore to Reading last Monday following an impressive start with the BlueClaws. A fourth-round pick in last year's Draft, the 22-year-old infielder slashed .284/.402/.474 (.876 OPS) with eight home runs and 18 stolen bases in 53 games with Jersey Shore.

DeMartini had little trouble adjusting to the callup, going 6-for-13 (.462) with four stolen bases in his first three games with Reading.

High-A: Dylan Campbell (No. 30)
A gifted athlete in center field, Campbell has been heating up in June following a slow start at the plate. The 22-year-old was acquired in January from the Dodgers in exchange for international bonus pool money, which L.A. put toward signing Roki Sasaki.

Campbell, who was also a star running back in high school before becoming a star baseball player at Texas, hit just .179 with a .602 OPS over 42 games through May. In June, though, he's reached base safely in 10 of 11 games while hitting .310 with a .941 OPS. He's also reached base multiple times in six straight games, during which he's 11-for-25 (.440) with six extra-base hits and three walks.

Single-A: Dante Nori (No. 6)
Nori, the Phillies' first-round pick in last year's Draft, put on a show last Sunday when he reached base five times by going 4-for-5 with five RBIs, a stolen base and a walk in Clearwater's 15-12 win.

The speedy outfielder is still hitting just .240 with a .660 OPS, but he's impressed with his speed (16 stolen bases in 58 games this season) and his plate discipline. He has nearly as many walks (48) as strikeouts (56) over 69 games with Clearwater dating to last season.

Zack Wheeler, who recently recorded his 1,000th strikeout as a Phillie, ranks second in franchise history with 9.90 K's per nine innings. Who is ahead of him?

A. Vince Velasquez
B. Aaron Nola
C. Cole Hamels
D. Ranger Suárez

Dusty Wathan spent last Thursday's off-day being inducted into Double-A Reading's Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025, alongside Darin Ruf and Trevor May.

Wathan began his managerial career in 2008 with the Phillies' then-Low-A affiliate in Williamsport. He worked his way up to Single-A Lakewood (2009) and High-A Clearwater (2010-11) before managing Reading from 2012-16, where he remains the Fightin Phils' all-time winningest manager.

After one season managing Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2017, Wathan has served as the Phillies' third-base coach since '18.

Thomson was on hand in Reading last week to support Wathan on his big night.

"Dusty's been around here a long time and had a lot of success," Thomson said. "He's worn different hats and been successful at everything he's done. I've said since I've been here -- even before I became the manager -- that Dusty should be managing in the big leagues someplace.

"That's how good of a baseball man he is, and he's as good a person as you can get. So I was really happy to be there. It was a great time."

After starting the week with a road trip to Miami, the Phils return home this weekend to host the rival Mets. The series begins on Friday night, when the Phillies will host their annual "Pride Night," presented by The GIANT Company. 

Sunday's series finale -- which is the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN -- marks the annual "Phans Feeding Families" game. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items (recommendations include canned goods, canned tuna, peanut butter and pasta) to donate at the entrance gates. For more info, click here.

A. Vince Velasquez

Velasquez averaged 9.92 K's per nine innings during his time with the Phillies, putting him just ahead of Wheeler's 9.90. Nola (9.86) is third, followed by Cliff Lee (8.84), Hamels (8.60), Curt Schilling (8.43) and Suárez (8.22).

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