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Andrew Painter lived up to his reputation this fall in Arizona.

It should be fun then to see him pitch this spring in Clearwater, Fla. At least, it should make the spring more interesting. Painter showed everybody in the Arizona Fall League why he is one of baseball¡¯s top pitching prospects -- he is the Phillies¡¯ No. 2 prospect and the No. 32 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline -- despite not pitching competitively since March 1, 2023, when he sustained a right elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

Painter, 21, made his sixth and final start in the AFL on Tuesday. He allowed two hits, one earned run and two walks in 2 2/3 innings, striking out six.

He went 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in six AFL starts, striking out 18 and walking four in 15 2/3 innings. Opponents batted .189 against him.

¡°Coming in here, I just wanted to compete and get a feel for my stuff, feel confident going into ¡¯25 and walk out healthy,¡± Painter told MLB.com¡¯s Jim Callis on Tuesday. ¡°It felt great. You can¡¯t simulate it in bullpens and everything back at the complex. The adrenaline kicked in and did its part. Everything felt good, and I feel really good moving forward.¡±

Painter¡¯s fastball touched 99 mph in his final start. He threw 11 of 15 sliders (86-92 mph) for strikes. He threw six of seven curveballs (79-83 mph) for strikes. He mixed in his changeup, too.

None of this changes the fact that Painter is unlikely to make the Opening Day roster. The Phillies need to manage his workload after he missed the past two Minor League seasons, but there is every reason to think he will be in the Phillies¡¯ 2025 rotation at some point.

¡°We don¡¯t have a fifth starter right now,¡± Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this month at the GM Meetings. ¡°I think we have a fifth starter waiting in the wings [in Painter] who¡¯s going to be outstanding. But the problem is he¡¯s not going to be able to pitch 180 innings, so we¡¯re going to need somebody to fill another starting pitcher¡¯s role. And that could be internal, but we¡¯re not going to give the spot to Taijuan Walker.¡±

Philadelphia could open the season with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher S¨¢nchez and Ranger Su¨¢rez as its top four starters, although it would not be surprising to see Su¨¢rez traded considering he will be a free agent following the 2025 season and the Phils will need to trade good players to get good players, as Dombrowski said. They pushed hard for White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet before the July 30 Trade Deadline and could push a Su¨¢rez deal past the finish line before Spring Training.

Regardless of who starts the season in the rotation, the Phillies know they need their top prospects to start contributing for the long-term health of the organization. It¡¯s the best way to keep the World Series championship window open as long as possible.

They think they¡¯ve got a great one coming in Painter.