Connor Phillips named Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Week

They capitalized Pitcher of the Week, not me.

At no point in his professional career has Connor Phillips been more needed by the Cincinnati Reds than he is right now.

The fireballing righty and his wipeout slider came to the Reds from the Seattle Mariners organization as the player to be named later in the deal that sent away Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker, arriving to the Cincinnati farm a mere 20 year old JUCO product who’d only thrown 76 innings of pro ball (all of which came at A or A+). The talent was there, clearly, but he was a long-game plan, someone who fit the franchise’s ‘sustainability’ mold more than the more immediate-impact returns of Jake Fraley and Brandon Williamson.

It’s Williamson who, in part, has helped thrust Phillips to the forefront of the Reds pitching pipeline. The former’s Tommy John surgery paired with that of Julian Aguiar has thinned the ranks significantly as the team heads into an offseason where they’ll likely lose Nick Martinez (and potentially Jakob Junis), leaving Phillips – who struggled mightily with mechanics during something of a lost 2024 season – a window to firmly stake his claim to the next man up role.

So far, Connor is relishing that opportunity. In his first appearance for the Glendale Desert Dogs in Arizona Fall League play, he struck out 7 across 4 scoreless IP, a performance that earned him AFL Pitcher of the Week status as of Wednesday morning.

MLB Pipeline had the news.

There’s hope that Andrew Abbott’s shoulder is just fine even though he finished the 2024 season on the injured list because of it. There’s also hope that Graham Ashcraft’s right arm is just fine even though a right elbow strain cut his 2024 season short. Nick Lodolo, for all his talent, has had an impossible time avoiding the most random of injuries, but the hope is the finger sprain that shut him down in mid-August is avoidable heading into 2025.

There’s hope in the Cincinnati pitching pipeline, but hardly any true, proven things behind Hunter Greene. And with the Reds needing to spend their limited funds chasing offensive improvements, it would be an incredible boon if they could get another boost on the mound from within, something that Phillips has the talent to provide if he can just find a way to harness his stuff once again.

The early returns there, thank heck, sure do look promising.