Andrew Painter is one step away from finally joining the Philadelphia Phillies rotation sometime this year.

It’s been a long time coming. He was Philadelphia’s first-round pick in 2021 and by spring training in 2023 the Phillies had visions of Painter joining their starting rotation.

But an elbow injury derailed his career. It eventually required Tommy John surgery, which erased his entire 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Incredibly, Painter has remained one of baseball’s best prospects throughout his injury and recovery.

Recently, Baseball America adjusted his Top 100 ranking to No. 13. MLB Pipeline adjusted it to No. 5. This week, ESPN weighed in with its Top 50 prospects.

While ESPN didn’t rank him as highly as either site, he was still in a great spot at No. 23. He was on a second tier of prospects given a Future Value rating of 55 by the site’s writer, Kiley McDaniel.

After Painter didn’t pitch in the regular season last year, he went to the Arizona Fall League, where he was named pitcher of the year after he threw 15.2 innings with a 2.30 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and a .189 batting average against. He also struck out 18 and walked four while posting a 31 percent miss rate.

That carried over into a fine spring. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made it clear there was a plan for Painter. He would begin the season in the minor leagues and manage his workload as he stretches himself out to be a full starter again. Philadelphia’s hope is that Painter will be able to become a part of the staff in the second half of the season.

So far, he looks like he’ll be ready. In seven minor league starts he is 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 23.1 innings. He has struck out 27 and walked seven. Batters are hitting just .216 against him.

How has he managed to remain a top prospect throughout his injury issues? MLB Pipeline may have the answer in its scouting report for the 21-year-old right-hander.

On a 20-80 scouting scale his fastball remains elite with a grade of 70. His slider and his control still rank at 60 or better and his overall scouting grade is 65. In the AFL, he showed he still had four pitches and pushed his elite fastball to 100 mph. He averaged 97 mph and he showed an improved slider.

That’s why he is still regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in the game. Even coming out of a major injury, his stuff remains elite.