New Delhi, June 8 -- The fastball was supposed to be the answer. At 96.2 mph and with the kind of late ride that had evaluators using phrases like "generational arm" before he turned 20, Andrew Painter's four-seamer was the pitch that made him the most coveted pitching prospect in the Phillies organization - and, for a stretch, in all of baseball. Through 12 big league outings this season, opponents are hitting .390 against it. His whiff rate on the pitch is 9.9 percent, the second worst among starting pitchers who have thrown at least 300 four-seamers in 2026. He is throwing it less and less. And no one, including Painter himself, can fully explain why it is no longer going where he wants it to go.

"We trust the kid, and we think he's g...