The Phillies haven’t opened the 2025 season just yet, but one Hall of Famer believes their pitching will guide them deep into October.
Hall of Fame baseball writer Jayson Stark was a guest on 97.5 The Fanatic’s “The Best Show Ever,” and he was very bullish on the Phils, particularly the starting pitching, a group that features a pair of additions at the back end to an already strong top four: hard-throwing Jesus Luzardo, added via trade from Miami, and top prospect Andrew Painter, who expects to arrive sometime around the middle of the season.
“I think the upside is best rotation in baseball,” Stark said. “We’re assuming the big guns stay healthy. [Zack] Wheeler, [Aaron] Nola, they’re all about taking the ball. Let’s assume they do. Then you have Cristopher Sanchez. So much buzz about that guy all spring, and with reason. He finished the spring with a 29% strikeout rate. Now you have this ‘swing and miss’ version of Sanchez that we’ve never seen. It could be spectacular if this is what he is.”
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“Jesus Luzardo is a swing and miss machine. It feels to me like he is highly motivated by a chance to pitch for a team that’s actually good! When you think about all the retreads that they ran through the number 5 starter hole last year, and now you compare that group to Jesus Luzardo, what a difference! It’s incredible to think about what a difference that make.”
Some lofty expectations indeed for Luzardo, who while exceedingly talented, has yet to truly arrive in the major leagues. But Stark saved some superlatives for a man who has yet to throw a single major league pitch.
“Ricky, this guy’s gonna be [Yankees ace] Gerrit Cole, honestly. I just wonder about how patient the Phillies can be about getting him to the big leagues if they have any injuries early in the rotation.”
Whoa.
Painter hasn’t pitched a single inning above AA-ball, and Stark compares him favorably with a 6-time All-Star, Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer. Heady stuff. I’ll take it.
Coming off Tommy John surgery and rehab, Painter (who turns 22 next month) is on an innings restriction of about 100 innings for 2025. The front office would prefer that those innings are pitched down the stretch, or, if the situation calls for it, in the postseason. But we shall see.
“I know they feel like they’ve got the best rotation in the big leagues… I’m not sure they’re wrong, and a lot of it is about those two guys who were not there at any point last year.”