Basking in the afterglow of a Phillies victory over the Braves on Wednesday, I kept going back to something over and over. Yes the in game redemption arc of Bryce Harper was probably the dominant storyline of the game, as was the Alec Bohm home run. Cristopher Sanchez carried them on his back for 6+ innings until he could literally not do it any more, sending the game to the bullpen. That’s when Don Mattingly pulled the Andrew Painter card to help him get through the game.
It turned out: the Phillies
may have another pitcher with an elite pitch on their staff.
If we look at the Phillies’ starting rotation and tried to name the elite, 80 grade pitches that are there, one might determine these ones, in no particular order:
- Sanchez’s changeup
- Jesus Luzardo’s sweeper
- Zack Wheeler’s splitter
- mayyyyyyyyyybe Aaron Nola’s knucklecurve (if you’re feeling generous)
But did Painter’s changeup also just join the list? After only one game, one could be tempted to call it elite, especially since it was in a playoff setting when the leverage index was well over one. I’m not sure that I am there yet, but boy did that pitch look elite.
It wasn’t just one pitch that made me consider this over and over. I cannot get over the pitches that he threw to Dominic Smith. To have the absolute stones to throw the changeup as the first pitch is impressive. It ended up being middle-middle, not exactly where one wants to put it, but Smith was likely so amped up about getting a first pitch fastball that he’s miss the changeup by a mile.
Then to back it up with another changeup, this one down in the zone?!?!?!?!
Heavenly lord that pitch is illegal in about four countries.
In that moment, the tying and winning runs on base, seeing Painter rely on that pitch means that the trust he has in it is sky high at the moment. The coaching staff probably has more, better data on the pitch that suggested throwing it to Smith in that moment was the correct call. It perfectly set up his third strike, the ABS challenge that, quite honestly, should have never needed a challenge in the first place. There was quite literally nothing that Smith was going to be able to do with that well placed of a fastball.
I’m still thinking about it today.
