Game 5 - Painter Shines in MLB Debut

Washington Nationals	2
Philadelphia Phillies	3

2026 Topps Now #35

Tuesday Night, March 31st

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
2-3, 5th Place, 2 games behind the Marlins

One Sentence Summary:  Andrew Painter made his much-anticipated big league debut, delivering with a solid performance and a win as the Phils downed the Nationals.

What It Means:  After splitting the first two games, the rubber match would be played on Wednesday afternoon.

What Happened:  Painter looked calm and collected on the mound, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing four hits and a run while striking out eight.  Jhoan Duran came on in the ninth, recording his second save of the season.  Kyle Schwarber and Adolis Garcia both homered for the Phillies.  An important third run scored in the fifth when Bryce Harper reached on an error with the bases loaded, scoring Justin Crawford.  Harper collected a hit in the game, raising his five-game average to .100.

Featured Card:  As hoped, Painter received a Topps Now card for his debut.  As I did last year, rather than wait to have these cards in had, I'm going to try to use any Topps Now cards with the actual game featured.  (I ordered the card, but this is a screenshot from the Topps website.)

Field Report:  Three games in a  row for Jenna and me!  I redeemed a coupon for two free tickets for being a group leader, wanting to see Painter's debut.  Our seats were in Section 414, but we stood behind Section 315, enjoying the spring-like weather and a great night at the ballpark.  Pre-game dinner was from Uncle Charlie's steaks, quickly becoming a favorite of mine, but not quite as good (yet) as Bull's BBQ.

2026 Virtual Phillies Wall (Coming Soon) / 2026 Season Summary Index / 2026 Chachi Set Checklist

Spring Training Game 10 - Painter Shines, but Phils Fall to Yanks

New York Yankees	5
Philadelphia Phillies	3

2025 Bowman Prospects #BP-116

Spring Training Game 10

Sunday Afternoon, March 1st

BayCare Ballpark - Clearwater, FL

Record - 3-6-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Yankees scored four seventh inning runs off Zach Pop and Danyony Pulido, ruining the good vibes from earlier in the game following Andrew Painter's spring debut.

What It Means:  Top pitching prospect Painter has been cleared for take-off.  With Zack Wheeler likely starting the season on the injured list, Painter is all but guaranteed a spot in the starting pitching rotation, and he helped his cause in this game with two smooth, scoreless innings.

What Happened:  Painter was perfect and set down all six batters he faced.  The Phillies tied the game at 1-1 following Bryson Stott's solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.  Stott is now batting .625 (5 for 8) for the spring with a double and two home runs.  The Yankees took a 5-1 lead in the long top of the seventh, with Pop getting charged with all four runs on three hits and a walk.  In the ninth, Pedro Leon walked and scored on Dylan Campbell's triple.  Campbell scored the final run of the game when Felix Reyes singled him home.

Featured Card:  He hasn't pitched in a big league game yet, but I've already accumulated 21 different Painter cards in my Phillies collection.  His Bowman Prospects card from last year shows off the mustache he has since sadly shaved.

Camp Head Count:  69

The Phillies Room: November Notes

2005 Bowman Prospects #BP-116

2025 Choice Jersey Shore BlueClaws #25

2025 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #12

2025 Topps #30

2025 Topps #582

 

November 4 - Bader Declines Option:  Harrison Bader (of) declined his mutual option, triggering a $3 million buyout, and making him a free agent.  Bader is apparently open to returning to the Phillies on a multi-year deal.

November 5 - Alvardo to Return in '26:  The Phillies exercised their $9 million club option on Jose Alvarado (lhp) bringing him back to the bullpen for 2026.  Alvarado had a disastrous year, missing significant time due to injury and suspension for the use of a banned substance.

November 6 - Lantigua Departs / De La Cruz Signed:  In a bit of roster maneuvering, the Phillies activated Zack Wheeler (rhp) and Daniel Robert (rhp) from the 60-day injured list.  Also, Rafael Lantigua (inf) was outrighted, cleared waivers and elected free agency.  Lantigua was on the Phillies' active roster for two games in mid-September, but did not get into a game.  There are currently 30 players on the 40-man roster.

The Phillies signed Bryan De La Cruz (of) to a minor league contract.  De La Cruz has played in parts of five seasons in the majors with the Marlins, Pirates and Braves.

November 11 - Coaching / Topper News:  Edwar Gonzalez was named the new Assistant Hitting Coach, replacing Dustin Lind, who took the Orioles' main hitting coach job.  (A position most recently held by Cody Asche.)  Gonzalez joined the Phillies' organization prior to the 2023 season, and he spent this past year as the minor league director of hitting development.  Gonzalez is one of two assistant hitting coaches, along with Rafael Pena, working with primary hitting coach Kevin Long.

Manager Rob Thomson finished third in the National League Manager of the Year voting, with the Brewers' Pat Murphy taking the honors.

November 12-13 - Awards Round-Up:  Cristopher Sanchez finished second in the National League Cy Young voting, receiving all 30 second place votes.  The Pirates' Paul Skenes was the unanimous winner.  Jhoan Duran was a first-team All-MLB selection, with Kyle Schwarber, Sanchez and Zack Wheeler all making the second team.  And Schwarber finished second in the MVP voting, behind the unanimous choice, Shohei Ohtani.

November 18 - 40-Man Roster Additions:  The Phillies added three prospects to their 40-man roster, protecting them from the upcoming rule 5 draft.  Andrew Painter (rhp), Alex McFarlane (rhp) and Gabriel Rincones, Jr. (of) all had their contracts selected.

November 19-21 - Offseason Moves:  Colin Peluse (rhp) was signed to a minor league contract on November 19th and Pedro Leon (of) was selected off waivers from the Orioles.  A former Wake Forest Demon Deacon, Peluse had pitched in six minor league seasons in the Athletics organization.  Leon appeared in seven games for the Astros in 2024, and spent much of last season recovering from a knee injury.

November 21 - Non-Tender Deadline:  Michael Mercado (rhp) and Daniel Robert (rhp) were both non-tendered, making them free agents.  All other arbitration eligible players were tendered contracts by the Phillies in advance of the filing deadline.  The Phillies 40-man roster now stands at 32 players.

2024-25 Offseason - Pre-Thanksgiving Notes

2024 Choice Reading Fightin Phils (3rd Edition) #37

2024 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #15

2022 Choice Delmarva Shorebirds #18

2024 Choice Jersey Shore BlueClaws #7

Here's a look at a few recent Phillies-related news items as we head towards one of the best holidays of the year - Thanksgiving.

Lowy Joins Coaching Staff:  It looks as if the only turnover on manager Rob Thomson's coaching staff will be the assistant pitching coach.  Brian Kaplan recently left that role, taking the primary pitching coach position with the Diamondbacks.  He appeared on a few hard to find Phillies team-issued photo cards in 2022 and 2023, and I don't believe there are too many of those in the wild.

Replacing Kaplan is Mark Lowy.  Lowy joined the Phillies' organization in 2021 and has served as a backroom pitching analyst since then.  He played college baseball at Gettysburg College and has no baseball cards (yet) to his name.

Painter Wins Award:  On the road to recovery following Tommy John surgery, Andrew Painter (rhp) was named as the Arizona Fall League's Pitcher of the Year.  He was 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in six starts, striking out 18 and walking four over 15 2/3 innings.  I would expect to see Painter hopefully pitching in Philly at some point in 2025.

40-Man Roster Moves:  On Tuesday, the Phillies added pitching prospects Mick Abel (rhp), Jean Cabrera (rhp) and Moises Chace (rhp) to their 40-man roster, protecting them from the upcoming rule 5 draft.  John McMillon, claimed off waivers from the Marlins on November 4th, cleared waivers and was outrighted to the IronPigs.  The Phillies currently have 39 spaces filled on their 40-man roster.

Spring Training Game 6 - Painter Impresses as Phils Tie Twins

2022 R-Phils Phillies
Top 25 Prospects #3

Phillies 4, Twins 4
Spring Training Game 6 - Wednesday Afternoon, March 1st in Fort Myers
Record - 4-1-1

One Sentence Summary:  Top pitching prospect Andrew Painter made his much-anticipated spring debut and the Phillies played to a tie against the Twins in Fort Myers.

What It Means:  I'm ready for the season to start.

What Happened:  Painter gave up a run on three hits in his two innings of work, touching 99 on the radar and striking out Max Kepler looking.  Not a bad start for the 19-year-old who could be the Phillies' fifth starter to start the season.  All the Phillies runs came on home runs.  Jake Cave hit a two-run homer in the second and Darick Hall hit a two-run homer that banged off the center field batter's eye in the fifth.  The Twins tied it up in the ninth on a wild pitch by Phillies pitcher Braden Zarbnisky followed by a throwing error from catcher Aramis Garcia.

Scott Kingery and Cave both had multiple hits for the Phillies.

Featured Card:  I fully expect to be inundated with Painter baseball cards once he makes his debut, but for now I have a grand total of just six of his cards in my Phillies collection.  This is the first card of his I added, back in April 2022 from the Reading Fightin Phils Top 25 Prospects set.  Painter was #3 on that list last year, and he's since made the climb to #1.

Camp Head Count:  65

Phillies Add 21 Non-Roster Invitees to Spring Camp

2022 Topps Pro Debut #PD-8

2022 Choice Jersey Shore BlueClaws #5

2022 Choice Reading Fightin Phils Update #17

2022 Reading Fightin Phils Top 10 Prospects

2022  Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #35

I've faithfully tracked the Phillies' non-roster invitee announcements on this blog since 2010, and this is the latest year ever we've received news of the team's invitees.  Adding to the intrigue, the list came all at once instead of in dribs and drabs.  For comparison purposes, the fist seven invitees to 2022 spring training were announced on December 14, 2021.  Here's a look at the 21 players who will show up to Clearwater in a few weeks, along with their 2022 organization and last major baseball card appearance, if any.

Player (position) - 2022 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card

1. Mick Abel (rhp) - Phillies - 2022 Topps Heritage Minor League #173 (Phillies)
2. Mark Appel (rhp) - Phillies - 2022 Topps Now #433 (Phillies)
3. Andrew Baker (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
4. Jon Duplantier (rhp) - Dodgers - 2021 Donruss Retro 1987 Signatures #87S-JO (Diamondbacks)
5. Louis Head (rhp) - Marlins / Orioles - N/A
6. Jake Jewell (rhp) - Guardians / Twins - N/A
7. Griff McGarry (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
8. Francisco Morales (rhp) - Phillies - 2022 Topps Update #US318 (Phillies)
9. McKinley Moore (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
10. Andrew Painter (rhp) - Phillies - 2022 Topps Pro Debut #PD-48 (Phillies)
11. Billy Sullivan (rhp) - Phillies - N/A
12. Jeremy Walker (rhp) - Giants / Rays - 2020 Topps Total #777 (Braves)
13. Ben Bowden (lhp) - Rockies / Rays / Giants - 2021 Topps Update #US298 (Rockies)
14. Jim Haley (inf) - Rays - N/A
15. Scott Kingery (inf) - Phillies - 2022 Topps Opening Day Luck of the Irish #LI-3 (Phillies)
16. Vimael Machin (inf) - Athletics - 2021 Topps Heritage #502 (Athletics)
17. Will Toffey (inf) - Phillies - 2020 Bowman Prospect Autographs #PA-WT (Mets)
18. Weston Wilson (inf) - Brewers - N/A
19. Vito Friscia (c) - Phillies - N/A
20. John Hicks (c) - Cubs - 2019 Topps #593 (Tigers)
21. Max McDowell (c) - Yankees - N/A

Phils Select High School Pitcher Painter as 13th Overall Pick

On the Sunday night before the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball held its annual amateur player draft, purposely moving the draft back to coincide with the All-Star festivities.  With the 13th overall pick in the draft, the Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter from Calvary Christian Academy in Florida.  The hope is that Painter and last year's top draft pick, Mick Abel, also a high schooler, rise through the Phillies minor league system together to form a formidable one-two punch in the Phillies pitching rotation for years to come.

The last time the Phillies selected back-to-back high school pitchers in the draft was 2001 and 2002 when they picked Gavin Floyd followed by Cole Hamels.  Former Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez had some high praise for Painter on draft night in the video embedded below.

That's some high praise from @45PedroMartinez on our No. 13 overall pick @Andypainterr! #MLBDraft | #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/s3VBs4JI4z

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 12, 2021

As I've done every year since 2014, I wanted to create a card to commemorate Painter's selection and listed below are links to the prior seven Phillies top draft picks.

Memory Lane
2014 Draft - Aaron Nola (rhp)
2015 Draft - Cornelius Randolph (ss)
2016 Draft - Mickey Moniak (of)
2017 Draft - Adam Haseley (of)
2018 Draft - Alec Bohm (3b)
2019 Draft - Bryson Stott (ss)
2020 Draft - Mick Abel (rhp)

2021 Draft - Andrew Painter (rhp)