Calvary Christian pitcher Andrew Painter heads to Phillies in first round of MLB draft
Andrew Painter was the best pitcher in the state this year and one of the players in the entire country. Now the Calvary Christian Academy pitcher is a first-round MLB draft pick.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Painter with the No. 13 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft Sunday, making him the first player from Florida picked in the draft, the third high school pitcher and sixth pitcher overall.
It caps a historic campaign for the right-handed pitcher. Painter was the Miami Herald’s All-Broward County Pitcher of the Year for Classes 4A-2A, won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Florida, and earned first-team All-American honors from MaxPreps. Painter went 6-1 with a 0.38 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 47 innings this year while leading Calvary Christian to the postseason as a senior in Fort Lauderdale.
The 6-foot-7, 215-pound pitcher was the No. 18 prospect in MLB.com’s pre-draft rankings with a devastating fastball, three strong off-speed pitches and good command. He throws “the easiest 98 [mph] I’ve ever seen,” Eagles coach Gil Morales said ahead of the draft.
Painter is orally committed to the Florida Gators, but first-round picks typically forego college and head straight to the minor leagues.
Painter’s selection gives Calvary Christian a draft pick in back-to-back years. Last year, the Miami Marlins selected Jake Eder, a former Eagle and Vanderbilt Commodore, in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft and the starting pitcher earned a trip to the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Sunday. Painter is the fourth Calvary Christian alumnus to be picked in an MLB draft and the second to be selected straight out of high school, joining Eder, who didn’t sign after he was a 34th-round pick in the 2017 MLB draft.
Painter likely won’t be the only Eagle, either. Fellow pitcher Irv Carter is the No. 118 prospect in the draft shortstop Andrew Ulloa is No. 165 and catcher Rene Lastres is No. 185. Florida relief pitcher Christian Scott, a Calvary Christian alumnus, is also ranked among the top 250 prospects in the draft.
Painter could also be one of two South Florida natives to go in the first round of the 2021 draft. Miami Hurricanes catcher Adrian Del Castillo, who starred at Gulliver Prep in Pinecrest before spending three seasons in Coral Gables, is the No. 42 prospect in the draft.
Other potential draft picks from the Miami metropolitan area include Plantation American Heritage pitcher Devin Futrell, Stoneman Douglas third baseman Gavin Conticello and Westminster Christian catcher Jaylen Melendez, plus Hurricanes first baseman Alex Toral, who played at Archbishop McCarthy, and Duke Blue Devils catcher Michael Rothenberg, who played at Pine Crest.
