Andrew Painter Climbs MLB Pipeline to No. 5, Set for Second Triple-A Start

Philadelphia Phillies prospect Andrew Painter will make his second start for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Thursday, and his MLB Pipeline ranking on Sunday rose to No. 5 thanks to his excellent start to the season with Clearwater and Lehigh.

Painter made his Triple-A debut last week and pitched three scoreless innings, striking out five.

Read More: Painter Gets Call to Triple-A Lehigh Valley

Painter Makes Big Jump in MLB Pipeline Rankings

Only the Boston Red Sox’s Roman Anthony, Pittsburgh Pirates’s Bubba Chandler, San Diego Padres’ Leo De Vries, and Arizona's Jordan Lawler are rated higher.

In the MLB Pipeline in-season ranking released last August, Painter came in at No. 27.

The right-hander, who has made one start for the Iron Pigs after four outings for Low-A Clearwater to open the season, will make his second start on  Thursday for Triple-A Lehigh and is scheduled to throw five innings or 70-75 pitches, on his way to 90-95 pitches before getting called up to Philadelphia.

Strong Start in Clearwater and Lehigh

Painter has been dominant in five minor league starts, the 22-year-old has produced a 3.14 ERA, 1.047 WHIP,  with 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched over two levels.

Other Phillies players featured in the latest MLB Pipeline list

Three other Phillies prospects appeared on the Top 100 list, shortstop Aidan Miller (No. 25), outfielder, Justin Crawford (No. 56) and catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 77) were the three other Phillies on the list.

Miller, a 21-year-old, has gotten off to a slow start with Double-A Reading. In 28 games, Miller has a .213 batting average, .309 on-base percentage, three home runs, and nine stolen bases.

Crawford, 21, has been outstanding, making the jump from Jersey Shore to Lehigh, hitting .308 with a .386 on-base percentage and 12 stolen bases in 34 games.

Tait, 18, is playing at Low-A Clearwater, hitting .280 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 26 games, and has thrown out 36% of runners trying to steal on him this season.