It was announced on Monday that Phillies top pitching prospect Andrew Painter had been selected as a member of the 2025 NL All-Star Futures Game. The announcement had a bucket of cold water thrown on it when Rob Thomson spoke to the media Monday afternoon as the Phillies prepared to face the San Diego Padres.

Thomson told reporters that: “We’ll keep him on our plan.” That plan is to limit his innings and bring him up after the all-star break. Thomson went on to say that the team will shut down Painter over the all-star break to further limit his innings and keep him healthy.

John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia tweeted that Thomson also put stipulations on having Painter join the Phillies after the break, stating that “if he’s healthy” and “if he’s pitching well.” It’s interesting that Thomson would mention Painter being healthy because there has been no indication that there are any health concerns with Painter.

As for pitching well, Painter did have back-to-back rough outings earlier this month when he allowed a combined 10 earned runs in nine innings pitched. He also allowed two home runs in each of those games and blamed the problems on having trouble with commanding his slider.

Andrew Painter talks about how he is feeling and why he believes he struggled in back-to-back games in Charlotte and at home against Worcester.

In three starts since the outing against Worcester at home where he struggled, Painter has thrown 14.1 innings and has allowed just four earned runs for an ERA of 2.51 in those starts. He also allowed just one home run in those outings.

If there has been any issue with Painter’s outings this season it is that his pitch count can climb quickly. In his last outing in Buffalo, 91 pitches netted him just 4.1 innings against the Bisons. In June, Painter walked 11 hitters in 23.1 innings with Lehigh Valley, which is also a little concerning, but can be contributed in part to the issues with his slider.

A bigger question would be where in the rotation would you slot Painter. Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez have all been lights out. Jesus Luzardo has had a couple hiccups but overall has been really good for the Phillies. Mick Abel – filling in for Aaron Nola – has pitched well in his five starts with a 3.47 ERA. If Nola is back – and there is no set timetable other than “the second half of the season” – he’s not really a candidate to be moved into the bullpen, either.

One possibility might be that the Phillies could consider dealing Abel at the deadline even if Nola is not back. Painter could step into the rotation until Nola would return, which may be just a couple of starts at that point of the season.