Connor Phillips Bio
Connor Allan Phillips (born May 4, 2001) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). A right-handed starter who has shifted into bullpen work in recent seasons, he made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2023. He wears uniform number 34 for Cincinnati and is regarded as a young arm still working to lock down a consistent big-league role.
Early Life and Background
Connor Allan Phillips grew up in Magnolia, Texas, where he attended Magnolia West West High School and starred for the school’s baseball program. As a senior in 2019, he played the role of staff ace, going 12–3 with a 1.13 earned run average and 125 strikeouts over 92⅔ innings, a season that pushed him onto the national scouting map.
That summer, the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, but Phillips chose not to sign, keeping his college eligibility intact. He had originally committed to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers, one of the top programs in the country, but he instead enrolled at McLennan Community College in Texas so that he would be eligible for the draft after his freshman year.
As a freshman at McLennan in 2020, Phillips made six starts and went 3–1 with a 3.16 ERA over 25⅔ innings before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortened spring, combined with his draft-eligible freshman status, accelerated his path to professional baseball.
Path to Professional Baseball
With one college season in hand, Phillips entered the 2020 MLB Draft as one of the more polished freshman arms available. The Seattle Mariners selected him with the 64th overall pick, and Phillips signed for a $1.1 million bonus, ending his amateur career.
He made his professional debut in 2021, splitting the year between the Modesto Nuts and the Everett AquaSox in Seattle’s lower minors. Over 17 starts between the two California League clubs, he went 7–4 with a 4.62 ERA, 111 strikeouts, and 46 walks in 76 innings, showing swing-and-miss stuff but also the control issues that would follow him into the upper levels.
Before the 2022 season, Phillips was traded to the Cincinnati Reds as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suárez to Seattle. The trade moved him into a new organization and set the stage for his climb through the Reds’ farm system.
Connor Phillips Career
Early Career (2021–2022)
Phillips opened his professional career in the Seattle system in 2021, pitching for Class-A Modesto and High-A Everett. His 111 strikeouts in 76 innings underscored the raw power of his fastball, even as his 46 walks hinted at command work still to come.
After the trade to Cincinnati in March 2022, he was assigned to the Dayton Dragons to start the year and was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts in late June. Across 24 starts for the two affiliates, Phillips went 5–8 with a 3.78 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 109⅔ innings, cementing his status as a strikeout-oriented starter in the upper minors.
Cincinnati Reds Breakthrough (2023)
Phillips returned to Chattanooga to open the 2023 season and was promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats in late June. In 25 appearances and 24 starts between the two affiliates, he logged a 4–5 record and a 3.86 ERA with 154 strikeouts in 105 innings, a strong platform for his first major-league call-up.
On September 2, 2023, the Reds selected his contract and promoted him to the majors for the first time after Brandon Williamson was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Phillips made five starts during his rookie stint and posted a 6.97 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 20⅔ innings, a difficult debut that nonetheless gave him his first taste of the big leagues.
Cincinnati Reds Era (2023–Present)
Phillips was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2024 season and did not appear for Cincinnati during the year. In 19 starts for the Bats, he struggled to a 3–9 record and an 8.01 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 78⅔ innings, a step backward that led to questions about his long-term role.
The Reds optioned him to Louisville again to start 2025, but a minor spring-training injury was later diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome. Rather than undergo surgery, Phillips managed the condition with botox injections and was moved to the bullpen. He was recalled twice during the year and appeared in 21 games as a reliever, going 5–0 with a 2.88 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 25 innings. He also pitched 38 innings for Louisville, going 1–2 with a 2.84 ERA, and his work in the Reds’ bullpen offered a glimpse of the role he could carve out going forward.
Driving Style and Strengths
Phillips is best known for a power arm that generates swings and misses, with a fastball that has consistently produced triple-digit strikeout totals in the minors. In 2022 and 2023 he combined for more than 300 strikeouts across the minor leagues, and his 2025 transition to relief play appeared to suit that profile, as he posted a 2.88 ERA in 21 appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen.
Notable Events and Milestones
His 64th-overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, his trade to Cincinnati as the player to be named later in the Winker–Suárez deal, and his September 2023 major-league debut each marked clear steps forward. His 2025 diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, and his decision to manage it with botox injections rather than surgery, became a defining off-field storyline of his young career.
Connor Phillips Career Wins
Connor Phillips has notched his first major-league victories as a relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, with the bulk of his wins coming during the 2025 season. Before that, his professional resume was built on prospect-level strikeout numbers rather than win totals, with his 5–0 mark in 21 relief appearances in 2025 representing his first sustained run of big-league success.
Cincinnati Reds Highlights
Phillips made his MLB debut on September 2, 2023, and worked exclusively as a starter during his rookie stint, going winless across five starts. After a year spent at Triple-A Louisville in 2024, he returned to Cincinnati in 2025 and posted a 5–0 record with a 2.88 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings as a reliever, establishing himself as a late-inning option for the Reds. His combined MLB line through the early part of the 2025 season showed a 7–1 record, a 4.85 ERA and 85 strikeouts, the strongest stretch of his major-league career to date.
Other Wins and Performances
In the minors, Phillips put together strong seasons for Modesto and Everett in 2021, going 7–4 with 111 strikeouts in 76 innings, and followed that with a 5–8 record and 150 strikeouts for Dayton and Chattanooga in 2022. His 154 strikeouts across 105 innings between Chattanooga and Louisville in 2023 showed continued growth before his big-league call-up.
Connor Phillips Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Phillips is a Texas native who came up through Magnolia West High School, and the public record on his immediate family is limited. He has not publicly tied his career to a baseball-playing relative or a well-known family lineage in the sport, and he is generally described as a self-made prospect who developed through Texas high school and community college baseball.
Personal Life
Phillips has kept most details of his personal life private, and there are no widely confirmed public reports of a spouse or children. His professional social media presence, including an Instagram account under his name, offers limited personal detail, and the focus of his public profile remains his work on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds.
2025 Season Performance
Phillips entered 2025 optioned to Triple-A Louisville after a difficult 2024 campaign in the minors, and a spring-training injury quickly reshaped his year. The diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome forced a move to the bullpen, and his decision to treat the condition with botox injections kept him on an active roster rather than on the operating table.
Recalled twice during the year, Phillips appeared in 21 games for Cincinnati as a reliever and went 5–0 with a 2.88 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings, the most effective big-league stretch of his career. With Louisville, he added a 1–2 record and a 2.84 ERA across 38 innings, showing consistency at both levels.
Through the early portion of the 2025 MLB season, his combined line with the Reds showed a 7–1 record, a 4.85 ERA and 85 strikeouts, and he has been used primarily in middle relief. The bullpen role appears to fit both his health plan and his power-pitching profile, and his outlook going forward hinges on whether he can stay healthy and continue missing bats in shorter outings.
