Connor Allan Phillips (born May 4, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Phillips attended Magnolia West High School in Magnolia, Texas, where he played baseball and went 12–3 with a 1.13 ERA and 125 strikeouts over innings as a senior in 2019. He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 35th round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

but did not sign. He had originally signed to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers, but instead enrolled at McLennan Community College so he would be eligible for the draft after his freshman year. As a freshman at McLennan in 2020, he made six starts and went 3–1 with a 3.16 ERA over innings before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners selected Phillips with the 64th overall selection of the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

. He signed for $1.1 million. He made his professional debut in 2021 with the Modesto Nuts and was promoted to the Everett AquaSox at the season's end. Over 17 starts between the two clubs, he went 7–4 with a 4.62 ERA, 111 strikeouts, and 46 walks over 76 innings.

Cincinnati Reds

On March 29, 2022, the Mariners sent Phillips to the

as the player to be named later from an earlier trade that also sent Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, and Brandon Williamson to the Reds in exchange for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez. He was assigned to the Dayton Dragons to open the 2022 season. In late June, he was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts. Over 24 starts between the two teams, Philips went 5–8 with a 3.78 ERA and 150 strikeouts over innings. Phillips returned to Chattanooga to open the 2023 season. In late June, Phillips was promoted to the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. In 25 games (24 starts) between the two affiliates, he logged a cumulative 4–5 record and 3.86 ERA with 154 strikeouts in 105.0 innings of work. On September 2, 2023, Phillips was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Brandon Williamson was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. In 5 starts during his rookie campaign, he struggled to a 6.97 ERA with 26 strikeouts across innings pitched. Phillips was optioned to Triple–A Louisville to begin the 2024 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Connor 2001 births Living people Baseball players from Houston Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Everett AquaSox players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers McLennan Highlanders baseball players Modesto Nuts players