Andrew Painter reared back and fired in a 97 mph fastball for a strike. Three years to the day since he last took the mound in a spring training game, the highly-touted right-hander was back out there on Sunday afternoon. Pitching in front of sellout crowd at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Painter retired all six Yankees he faced in his spring debut. “First time in three years out there for a spring training start,” Painter said when asked by Tom McCarthy and Ruben Amaro Jr. on NBC Sports Philadelphia if he was as excited as the team’s fanbase. “Anytime you go that long without throwing the ball or doing that sort of stuff there are always some juices flowing.” Painter has been touted as the next big thing since the Phillies used the 13th overall pick in 2021 to select the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder out of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But Painter’s fast rise to the big leagues was derailed after he felt pain in his arm following that spring training start three years ago. He proceeded to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the next two seasons. Painter returned last year and made 22 starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but had an uneven season. He struggled with command — often the last thing to return after Tommy John surgery — and finished with a 5-6 record and 5.65 ERA. Still, the Phillies have shown faith in the now-22 year old all but assuring of him a place in the big league rotation. “I felt pretty confident today with the stuff,” Painter said. “Everything felt good in the (bullpens) and the live (batting practice) so there was a little bit of confidence going out there.” While the Yankees lineup on Sunday didn’t feature three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge or Cody Bollinger, Painter quickly retired all six hitters — all big leaguers — he faced. He struck out Jasson Domínguez on a 2-2 slider and then induced a ground out from Ben Rice and a pop up from Trent Grisham in the first inning. In the second inning, he put down J.C. Escarra, Ryan McMahon and Paul DeJong in order. “The plan was to go two innings and I’m glad I got it done pretty quick,” Painter said. “I was trying to get ahead early and not fall behind, that was an issue I kind of fell into last year. Trying to get ahead and get into pitcher’s advantage counts and go finish guys.” In total, Painter threw 14 of his 20 pitches for strikes. He sat between 96-97 mph on his fastball and also mixed in a sinker, slider and sweeper. “(The life on the fastball) felt a little better,” Painter said. “It’s been better this offseason. It was a really good offseason and I put in a lot of work. You’re feeling good going into the year.” ...read more read less