SURPRISE, Ariz. ¨C Mission accomplished.

Andrew Painter arrived in the Arizona Fall League six weeks ago, having not pitched in game action since he sprained his elbow during a Spring Training appearance on March 1, 2023. He tried to rehab the injury before having Tommy John surgery that July, and he missed all of the past two Minor League seasons.

The Phillies made MLB's No. 32 prospect a late addition to the Glendale Desert Dogs roster just before the AFL began play, wanting him to get back on the mound before he attends Spring Training and eventually starts pushing for a big league job in 2025. He made his sixth and final start on Tuesday afternoon, setting season highs for pitches (53) and strikeouts (six in 2 2/3 innings) in a 9-5 win over the Surprise Saguaros.

¡°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 said. ¡°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 finished his Fall League stint with a 2.30 ERA (second-best in the league), .189 average-against and an 18/4 K/BB ratio in 15 2/3 innings. He regained his fastball velocity and the feel for his curveball and changeup while introducing a harder slider that was his best pitch vs. the Saguaros.

The 21-year-old right-hander worked with a 94-99 mph fastball against Surprise but landed just 15 of 28 for strikes. The first three batters reached against him in the bottom of the first inning on two walks and a single by Chase DeLauter (CLE No. 2/MLB No. 41), but he escaped that jam by coaxing a sacrifice fly from Jac Caglianone (KC No. 1/MLB No. 17) on a 99-mph heater and then striking out Max Acosta (Rangers) swinging on an 83-mph curveball and Doug Hodo (Orioles) looking on a 90-mph slider.

Painter relied heavily on his breaking stuff while striking out the side in the second. He caught Milan Tolentino (Guardians) looking at a 97-mph fastball, then overmatched Austin Deming (Astros) with an 87-mph slider and Quincy Hamilton (Astros) with an 83-mph curve. He gave up another single to DeLauter with one out in the third, then finished his day by pounding Carter Jensen (KC No. 5) with fastballs and getting a called strike three on a 95-mph heater on the outside corner.

His new slider ranged from 86-92 mph, and Painter threw it 15 times, 11 for strikes. He delivered six of his seven 79-83 curveballs for strikes, including a pair of swinging Ks, and mixed in a trio of 90-mph changeups.

¡°I feel great about the slider,¡± Painter said. ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s a newer pitch and I feel good where we¡¯re at with it now. I look forward to an offseason of tinkering with that.

¡°I feel good with all the offspeed pitches. I feel like I can land them for a strike. The fastball was kind of scattered my last two starts, but the changeup feels good and I¡¯m throwing it in the zone and it¡¯s been competitive for me. So I feel good about all four pitches right now.¡±

Though Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski already has said he expects Painter to be part of the team¡¯s pitching staff at some point next season, Painter said he¡¯s not thinking any further ahead than planning his offseason program. But there¡¯s no question he has recaptured the stuff that led MLB Pipeline to rate him as the game¡¯s best pitching prospect (and No. 6 overall) before he blew out his elbow.

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DeLauter, who notched the only two hits against Painter, relished the matchup.

¡°He's definitely a top-notch arm,¡± DeLauter said. ¡°I mean, he¡¯s one of the best pitchers I¡¯ve probably seen up to this point, elite stuff. There's a lot of strikes with anything he's got, so those at-bats are really fun.

¡°You feel very like mano-a-mano in those situations. You know he's going to bring his best stuff, you know he's going to throw it in the zone, so it's about getting a good swing off.¡±