Andrew Painter, Mick Abel to Start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley

Philadelphia Phillies Andrew Painter Mick Abel

Painter will make his third start at the Triple-A level and made four starts at Low-A Clearwater before that this season, returning from Tommy John surgery.

Painter has been excellent in his six minor league starts, with 20 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched with a 1.13 WHIP and 3.26 ERA this season.

(Frank Klose/97.3 ESPN)

Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has said he expects Painter to join the Phillies' Major League rotation sometime in July, but others have suggested that timeline could be sooner. One thing you should not expect is to see Painter pitch out of the bullpen when he is called up.

Here is what Dombrowski told MLB.com back in April after Painter's first start at Clearwater:

“Painter is not going to pitch out of the bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “He’s not built to do that. He’s a young pitcher, a starting pitcher. There’s also an adjustment phase to doing something like that. We’re building him up. He’s just too good of a prospect.”

Phillies’ starting pitchers vs. Rockies and A's

Jesús Luzardo will pitch Game 2 of the series for Philadelphia, followed by Taijuan Walker, with Ranger Suárez wrapping it up. The team will head out to Sacramento to face the Athletics with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo listed as the scheduled starters.