After missing the last two full regular seasons, Andrew Painter has turned some heads in his return to the mound this fall. He’s on track to make his major-league debut in 2025 and — according to one notable prospect evaluator — could make a run at the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Painter, the tantalizing former first-round pick who may have cracked the Phillies’ rotation as a teenager in early 2023 if not for an elbow injury and Tommy John surgery, was named a Rookie of the Year contender by MLB Pipeline‘s Jim Callis in the outlet’s latest edition of its annual ranking of candidates for the award.