High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Reacting to Andrew Painter's spring debut

Episode Date: March 2, 2023

Don't have time to listen to the entire pod? Check out this segment where James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss Andrew Painter's ceiling after watching his first start of the spring. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Watching Andrew Painter pitch yesterday was like almost like a religious experience, Jack. Just being like, because like, seriously, how long have we waited for this? We talked about this forever, the entirety of this podcast to have a guy like this. Like a guy come up from the minors at 19 is the best pitching prospect in the sport. And he just looks the part like it almost doesn't feel real jack like i can't believe andrew painter's our guy that's where i'm at and it was so funny because he just looked like he looked like he belongs totally like just looked like he belonged totally um so i have a couple thoughts on andrew painter one i need there to be some kind of fan group where people go down there and they paint

k's oh yeah when they When he gets a strikeout. Oh, yeah. We started to see it last year, the Jeans Jeans. They were back. Phenomenal stuff. Which is a good start to bringing back the fan groups. This one's so easy. Yeah.

I mean, paint club or painting numbers or painting numbers. Or like the Picassos. The Picassos. Oh, look at you. You're getting a little fancy there. Yeah. House painters. The Van Goghs. There's getting a little fancy there. Yeah. House painters. The Van Goghs.

Something. There's something there. House painters, not bad. There's something there. By the way, if we talked about just the fact that his name's Painter, I'm a huge, huge, huge fan in life

of like the name matching the thing. Like DeAndre Swift's a fast running back. Like, I love that. You know, that that type of stuff and the fact that we have a pitcher named painter like that's cool as hell man well and like uh you know pitching ninjas already put in bob ross and love it and strong people do by the way if they want to go full bit you know bob ross wigs oh for the for the andrew painter i like this bring in the easel the whole thing it's It's just beautiful. I'm surprised you know who Bob Ross is.

Well, I only know him because of GIFs. Okay. That makes sense. I've never actually watched it. I was certainly not expecting you to really know who Bob Ross was. No, absolutely not. That's definitely an age gap. I'm a bigger Jeff Ross guy than a Bob Ross guy.

Are you sure? You know, the roast master general. Yeah. I can see you being a roast guy. They're funny. You like to roast every day, really. I mean, it's kind of how you go about your business. Well, it's always bringing people down.

That's right. Whenever you get a little bit of confidence, bring it right back to the dirt. It's really just, you know, getting people where they need to be. Correct. You know, people get a little big for the britches. But no one's allowed to roast me. That's the... Oh, yeah.

Good to know. Cool. That's the... Okay, good. I roast. No one roasts me. I think that's how it's supposed to be, you know? Yeah.

Yeah. You take the joke. I'm not taking the joke. So with Andrew Painter, first off, looked like he belonged, which I think is big. Didn't look overwhelmed, looked weirdly composed for being 19, starting his first spring training game. And he knows that he's basically pitching for a job on this team, which is a lot of pressure for a guy that's high school a year ago. Which is also insane that a 19-year-old is pitching for a job on this team, which is a lot of pressure for a guy that was in high school a year ago. Which is also insane that a 19-year-old is pitching for a job on the team. I will say that it was obvious in the second inning, like, so... He went

hard in the first. Yeah. He went hard. But the difference between major league hitters and minor league hitters is obviously that they can hit 98. And you saw that. And it was actually nice. I was glad that the Twins had a lot of their regulars in there. Yeah. You know, like you faced Correa.

Correa, Kapler, faced a lot of dudes. That pit. Gallo. Yeah, Gallo. I guess he counts still. Hey, bounce back season. Without the shift, Joey Gallo's going to be better this year. He was good in the Dodgers last year.

Yeah. And as you told me, I didn't realize, like, elite defensive outfielder. I had no idea. But it did reinforce my belief of, like, he's going to need to develop more pitches. It was obvious in the second inning. Now, to be fair, Rob Thompson did say they told him you're starting every batter with a fastball. So that's obviously not part of his usual game plan. Which, again, this is my whole thing with spring training stats.

Don't overreact. I know you do, but this stuff happens where they're like, work on this. Well, they're playing baseball in front of me on TV. Yeah. How am I supposed to not overreact? Yes, that's fair. But, you know. You're playing baseball on TV in front of me?

Yeah. Sure, I'm just going to sit there on my hands. Yeah, is Weston Wilson your starting center fielder over Marsh or he's the next kevin france i kind of like him um no so like so in watching him the the stuff obviously popped the the the cutter is something that he's working on he seems like he's kind of still working through his arsenal but like there are going to be growing pains with him and that was pretty obvious too uh for as much as the stuff flashed, for as much as he looked like he belonged, for as much as I'm excited about seeing where that cutter goes, seeing how the fastball...

I was a little surprised he was so down in the zone with the fastball. I thought he was going to be more up in the zone. I think that's an adjustment he'll make. Just because, you know, swing path and all that, it's obvious to throw up in the zone. But, you know, it's so funny because we're so excited. It pops. And, like, an ERA in the 3-7 to 4-2 range this year is a win.

He's 19! Guys don't pitch in the major leagues at 19. Kevin Stocker was called in the game. He's like, last time I faced a 19-year-old was in high school or in college, he said, or whatever. You know, it's like, it is super rare. And to your point, like, he did really good in double A. It was like 21 innings or something, 20-something innings.

Like, he has had very little experience pitching against the best hitters in the world. Like, none. And I was looking at today, actually. So, like, we think Kershaw's the best pitcher of a generation, right? It's like him, Verlander, Scherzer. There are a few guys you'd put in the running, but I'm a Kershaw guy the best pitcher of a generation, right? It's like him, Verlander, Scherzer. There are a few guys you'd put in the running, but I'm a Kershaw guy. Right. And right before that was Felix Hernandez.

And those were the two pitchers I remember distinctly. Like, Kershaw was up at 20. Hernandez was up at 19. I think he was 19. And Hernandez's first year, he had, like, a 2-6, which is insane. But it was also maybe, like, nine starts. But his second year, he was at, like, a 4-3. And in Kershaw's first year, he was like a 4-0-4.

So he's going to have these growing pains. And I don't want to like – Put too much pressure on him. There should not be an expectation he's going to go out there and pitch to a 3 or a 2-5 or whatever. And believe me, if he does – Get the plaque ready now. Just put him in Cougars now.

Exactly. So I'm geek Goobers now. Exactly. So I'm geeked up. I'm excited. But there's just going to be obvious growing pains with him. And that's fine. They're going to happen. And he's going to work through it. He seems like such a pitching nerd.

He's been going to Brian Kaplan's Cressy performance thing since he was 13. I love that stuff. I love that stuff. I think it all matters. And I just can't wait, you know? And it did reinforce my belief that they should go six man when they can. Oh, yeah. As soon as we talked about that on the pod, I was like, yeah, that's actually a really good idea.

The one thing that stood out to me, too, and again, it's hard to tell this with the eye, but watching it over and over, I mean, his release is so deep. I mean, his release is so deep. Like, I know he's 6'7", but even still, it just feels like when he can really, you know, when he gets there, man, like, he's going to be unhittable. Like, he is the type of guy who, when he gets to where he's going to be, like, you know, he's going to, like, he has the potential. To your point, like, he does, like, his ceiling is those guys. It's Verlander, it's Scherzer. Like, that's crazy to think about.

Well, it's crazy to think about as a Phillies prospect. That's my point. I'm only talking, yes, of course, there are guys like that, but as a Philly, like, this is crazy. Yeah, and I think he's got even more in the tank. Wow. Because it's like. You're talking like inner circle Hall of Famer type stuff.

No, no, no. I'm talking strictly stuff-wise and fastball-wise. And look, the longevity. I mean, the fact that those guys are all still pitching effectively and, in certain cases, winning Cy Young's is what makes them all-time great. Right, but in watching him, it's like he can get on top. His stuff and his makeup and his size, it can be overbearing at times.

And I think that as he continues to grow and continues to get in the mindset of like, I'm nasty, I'm unhittable, like having that kind of cocky, like no one can mess with me kind of feel like, I just think there's so much more of like coming downhill and, and getting right in their grill at 99,

like up in the zone. Well, yeah, that release point. Yeah, exactly. It's like right on you. Yeah. Like it probably feels like one Oh five, you know, at that point the zone. Well, yeah, with that release point. Yeah, exactly. It's like right on you. Yeah.

It probably feels like 105 at that point. Yeah. And it's just, yeah. It was a good first start. I am curious, as we go along here, as we get into the second start,

third start of spring training, how does he look the third, fourth inning? Right, once they get to see him a little bit and all that. And part of me is still scarred from Spencer Howard, you know, like the velocity dipping. Well, again, he's a painter who's a way,

way, way better prospect than Howard was. But yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you, yeah. That was our last, quote-unquote, great pitching prospect that we've had here. I know. And they didn't let him, you know, if part of the idea was like, just work your fastball, we'll see how that goes. I'm curious to see him go along here

and actually pitch because I don't think he threw a changeup all day. I think it was only fastballs and cutters. Yeah. I think. He threw a couple curveballs. Did he? That was about it, I'm pretty sure. But, yeah, it's just he's stupid, man.

It's unbelievable. Again, like I – it just feels surreal. Like it doesn't feel like this guy's actually a Philly. Well, and then you start thinking about, okay, so I'm watching Zach Wheeler, and I sort of think he's going to win Cy Young this year. Wow, look at you coming out hot. Dude, like – Well, I was impressed, especially coming off the year last year.

I mean, a long season. Well, and someone wrote about this. It might have been Zalecki. You know, I had forgotten about – like he entered last year with a about this. It might have been Zalecki. You know, I had forgotten about it. He entered last year with a shoulder injury. Yeah. Oh, I forgot about that. You're right.

He was barely throwing down there. Yes. I remember we were worried about freaking like, not TJ, but we had the forearm thing, too, didn't we? That was last year in the middle of the season. Yeah. And they brought him back. But, yeah, you're right. He had the shoulder fatigue thing early in the season. So, I mean, just going off his first start, 97 to 99, looking overpowering.

He's added in that sweeper, which makes me excited. It's all the rage in baseball now is the sweeper. The sweeper. So if he's figuring out that pitch, he didn't even throw a changeup or anything. It's just, you think about, so Wheeler has a year after this year. Hopefully re-sign him. I think he's just going to age well. He doesn't look like his stuff is going anywhere.

I think he's one of those guys. So you go Wheeler, and then you think about Painter developing. Because Painter's upside is just as high as Wheeler's is not higher. I think it's higher. I think it's definitively higher. Don't you think? Yeah.

I mean... It should be. I think it's just ceiling. We're talking pure ceiling. Look, if he becomes Zach Wheeler, like... Steal. What a win. I mean, amazing.

If he becomes, like, Zach Wheeler, light. Like, great career, whatever. But, like, I think his ceiling is, like, Scherzer. Like, I think that kind of guy is what Painter's ceiling is. Right. I mean, considering where he's at at his age and what he can do. Like, his ceiling is best pitcher in baseball. Like, that's his ceiling.