Is Andrew Painter ready to assume a starter’s role with the Phillies this season, notably with Zack Wheeler unlikely to start the season?

Or will the Phils turn to Taijuan Walker or another choice?

That’s one of the primary questions facing the team this spring. Painter, the 13th overall pick of the 2021 draft, is one among countless Phillies’ top starting pitching prospects who either found their way into the rotation or were sent in another direction.

In this version of my Behind the Plate column, I will review Painter’s chances, as well as some other presumed pitching sages through the years.

Also, I’ll take a look at baseball’s new ABS system, and review the career of a former Jim Thorpe star among other topics.

The Votes Are In ... During a recent Times News Lehighton Sports Facebook poll, the question was posed on whether Painter should take Wheeler’s spot in the rotation.

The results can be a little striking.

Forty-five-percent believed Painter should make it, 35-percent thought the Phillies should look elsewhere, and 20-percent felt the Phils should use Walker in his place.

Paint It Red ... Painter accumulated an overall 5-8 record, 5.26 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and 123 strikeouts in 26 starts with the Clearwater Threshers and Lehigh Valley IronPigs last year.

In 2022, expectations were high for the 22-year-old after he went 6-2 with a 1.56 ERA with 155 strikeouts and a 0.89 WHIP in 22 combined starts with Clearwater, Jersey Shore, and Reading.

The bar was set even higher for Painter last season, and it really shouldn’t have been with him coming off Tommy John surgery. Before he was sidelined, Painter had a 30-percent whiff rate, mainly due to his fastball.

Even though the Phillies may have some other avenues, it’s become apparent that Phils’ president Dave Dombrowski will open the season with Painter in the rotation. It’s one of the reasons the Phils let Ranger Suarez walk.

Walker-This-Way ... In his previous three years in Philly, Walker has been inconsistent.

Last season, Walker was 5-8 with a 5.07 ERA, a 1.407 WHIP over his 21 starts in 34 games. Arguably, his best season in his career was in 2023 when he went 15-6 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.309 WHIP over 31 starts after he signed as a free agent.

Walker had his previous breakout season with the Mets when he went 15-6 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.195 WHIP over 29 starts.

Over three seasons, Walker is 23-21 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.432 WHIP over his 67 starts.

Walker got off to a hot start in April (2.78 ERA), but cooled off in May (4.35) and June (5.40). He settled down again in July (3.80), and August (3.14) before he imploded in September (6.14).

Other Options ... It was unlikely that the Phils would have signed a big ticket hurler like former Diamondback Zac Gallen, who resigned with Arizona Friday. Forty-one-year-old Max Scherzer keeps popping up as an option, but I can’t see him with the Phillies.

Another veteran option would be 37-year-old Patrick Corbin, who was 7-11, 4.40 with Texas last season.

If anything, the Phils might have wanted to re-sign Walker Buehler as an insurance policy if Painter struggled. Buehler was a late-season find for the Phils last year, going 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA in two starts over three games. However, he recently signed with the Padres.

Leaders of the Pack ... Since the baseball amateur draft began in 1965, the Phillies have selected 32 pitchers with their top pick. Before Painter, current Twins’ pitcher Nick Abel was picked in 2020.

Those who made an impact in varying degrees were Roy Thomas (1971) Larry Christenson (1972), Dick Ruthven (1973), Mark Davis (1979), Pat Combs (1988), Tyler Green (1991), Wayne Gomes (1993), Carlton Loewer (1994), Dave Coggin (1995), Adam Eaton (1996), Brett Myers (1999), Gavin Floyd (2001), Cole Hamels (2002), Joe Savery (2007), Jesse Biddle (2010), and Aaron Nola (2014).

Gage Wood, the 2025 pick, threw just two innings at Clearwater last year after he went 4-1 with a 3.82 in 10 starts at Arkansas.

Those who didn’t make it, or whose careers fizzled quickly were Mike Adamson (1965), Lowell Palmer (1966), Phil Meyer (1967), Mike Martin (1970), Daryl Adams (1978), Billy Irions (1980), Johnny Abrego (1981), Jeff Norwood (1983), Eric Boudreaux (1985), Blas Minor (1986), Matt Rambo (1987), and Shane Watson (2012).

Cast Away ... The Phillies did the right thing by releasing controversial outfielder Nick Castellanos. Their public rift with him made it difficult for a trade.

Philly will pay him $20 million that was owed on the final season of his five-year pact. Castellanos, who fell in disfavor and was benched last season, hit .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs.

When he came over from Cincinnati in 2023, Castellanos hit .272 with 29 homers and 106 RBIs, and then hit .467 in the divisional series. But he dipped to .042 with 11 strikeouts in the NLCS.

Castellanos played in all 162 games the following season, and hit .254 with 23 homers and 86 RBIs. He hit .412 in the postseason, but again sank to .133 in the 2025 postseason.

Throughout his time in Philly, Castellanos was a defensive liability, as he has ranked last among qualified outfielders in Outs Above Average (-12) and Defensive Runs Saved (-90) since 2016.

Castellanos signed with the Padres for the MLB minimum of $780,000 Saturday. He will be a designated hitter and play first base.

A Mc-Clutch Hitter? ... There has been some chatter that the Phillies have looked into the possibilities of bringing outfielder/designated hitter 39-year-old Andrew McCutcheon back in the fold.

McCutcheon was one of the more popular players when he made Citizens Bank Park his home from 2019-21. However, McCutcheon never lived up to his billing, hitting a combined .237. His best season was in 2021, when he hit 23 homers and drove in 80 runs with only a .222 average. He hit .256 in 2019.

Over the past three years, McCutcheon has signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Pittsburgh with whom he debuted in 2009 and has spent 12 years there. But he still hasn’t been offered a new deal.

In spite of his age, McCutcheon still could be a strong veteran presence in the clubhouse.

The Phillies did sign veteran utility player Dylan Moore, along with outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to minor-league pacts. They also have versatile Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp, and Johan Rojas on the 40-man roster.

It Can Be A Race ... Baseball Prospectus recently released their predictions for all six baseball divisions based on their data.

In the NL East, they see a tight three-team race surprisingly with the Braves (92.6 wins), Mets (89.5), and Phillies (85.8). The Cubs are predicted to take the Central (89.4), and the Dodgers (104.3) in the West.

The Yankees (88.6) will be in a battle with the Blue Jays (88.3), and the Orioles (83.8). Kansas City (85.5) will capture the Central, and Seattle (93.6) wins the West.

Getting It Right ... In the upcoming season, MLB will employ the ABS Challenge System, which will monitor the exact location of each pitch, relative to the specific batter’s zone. Each team will get two challenges to start the game.

Players can request a challenge of a ball or strike call. When they do, a graphic displaying the result is then transmitted over a 5G network from T-Mobile’s Advanced Network Solutions and nearly instantaneously shown to those in attendance via the videoboard and to home viewers via the broadcast. A player will tap on his helmet to indicate a challenge.

Once the ball-strike call is either confirmed or overturned, the game goes on, having only been briefly interrupted.

If the game goes into extra innings, each team will get an extra challenge. However, if a team has challenges remaining at the start of the 10th inning, they will not get an extra challenge. But if that team uses its challenge or challenges in the 10th inning, they would get another one in the 11th inning.

It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. It does likely signal the end of umpiring crews in the future, instead leaning toward robotic crews.

I hope this doesn’t slow the game down, especially if players believe an umpire is having a bad day.

Keep an eye on this.

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will peel back the pages to recall the career of a former local standout.

Geoff Kelowitz was a 2000 Jim Thorpe graduate and excelled on the mound for the Olympians.

Over four years, he posted a 22-8 record with a 1.60 ERA. He holds team records in wins and strikeouts.

In his senior year, Kelowitz hit .517 with seven homers and 25 RBIs with a .648 OPS, and struck out only eight times in 113 at-bats. He was named the Times News Baseball Player of the Year in 2000.

Kelowitz continued his baseball career at Towson University, where he played two years. He was 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 14 games.

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