Evan Phillips
I know we have a "Pro Seahawks" thread (though I couldn't locate it to bump it), but I think Phillips deserves his own thread.
Evan is currently listed as one of the two setup men (along with Daniel Hudson) to closer Craig Kimbrel on the Dodgers' unofficial depth chart. He's steadily moved the needle with each outing to reach this point and is having a fantastic season overall.
He's made 22 appearances and sports a 2.28 ERA, 0.930 WHIP and has recorded a Win and 5 Holds on the season. He's struck out 29 batters in 23.2 innings of work (11.25 K/9).
It's been a wild ride for Phillips throughout his career. A talented righty who was a 33rd round pick (Royals) out of High School, he struggled through the majority of his Seahawk career. Midway through his junior season at in 2015, he wasn't even on the travel roster for the Seahawks, and by the time the calendar reached May, his ERA had ballooned to 7.31. In his most recent start (April 29 @ Campbell), he'd only lasted 0.2 innings. There was no certainty he'd play a significant role for the team in the stretch run or postseason.
But then the lightbulb apparently went on and Phillips had perhaps the most remarkable turnaround of any UNCW player in program history. It started with his first relief appearance of the season, when he went 3.2 innings @ # 18 Charleston. Phillips entered the game after starter Whitman Barnes only lasted 2.0 innings, followed by Cory Gantz allowing 5 earned runs while only recording 1 out. Phillips was effective in relief, giving up just 1 earned run while striking out 5 and walking none. The Hawks ended up losing, 11-7, but his performance gave the coaches enough confidence to hand him the ball in his next start, against JMU.
It was here that Phillips really caught fire. He went 7 innings against JMU, allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits in a 5-1 victory. Next up was the CAA Tournament, where Phillips, now the # 2 starter in the rotation, got his crack at Charleston again, who finished the regular season ranked # 16 in the country. He pitched another gem, allowing 2 earned runs on just 2 hits and striking out 8 over 6.1 innings, with the Seahawks winning 4-3. The victory vaulted the Hawks into the championship, where they beat Charleston once again to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Phillips was named to the All-Tournament team.
Finally, on the grandest stage of all, Phillips went toe-to-toe with Baton Rouge Regional host and # 5-seed in the field and # 1-ranked team in the polls, LSU. This was just 31 days after he hadn't made it out of the 1st inning against Campbell and was relegated to the bullpen. Phillips again came up huge, allowing just 1 earned run over 6 innings against the Tigers in their own house. Unfortunately, the Tigers' pitching stymied the Seahawk offense, resulting in a 2-0 loss for UNCW. The Hawks battled back into the Regional final by beating Tulane the next day, but fell again to LSU on Monday, June 1st to get eliminated.
It was a remarkable run for Phillips: Over his final four appearances, Phillips struck out 22 and walked just four in 23 innings. He compiled a 1.17 earned run average and led the staff with a 0.73 ERA in the postseason. While Phillips was likely on many MLB draft boards regardless due to his pedigree coming out of High School, these impressive performances still sent Phillips' stock shooting up. He ended up a 17th round pick by the Braves, and elected to forego his senior year to go pro.
Nothing is guaranteed midround picks, and for Phillips this was no exception. But even so he made his way through the Atlanta system and made his major league debut in 2018. He struggled his first year in the pros, recording an 8.53 ERA over 4 appearances with the Braves. He was then traded to the Orioles at the trade deadline along with LHP Bruce Zimmerman and 2 other prospects for Kevin Gausman and reliever Darren O'Day. He struggled even more in Baltimore, posting a gaudy 18.56 ERA over 5 appearances. He got steadily better with the Orioles over the subsequent 2 seasons, but it wasn't enough for the organization to stick with him, as he was released on August 2nd, 2021.
2 days later, Phillips was picked up by the Rays, who are widely known for their ability to take "reclamation projects" and turn them into useful pieces or even stars. He made 1 appearance in 3 innings, allowing 1 earned run. But I imagine the Rays regret not keeping him around after what happened next. Phillips was selected off waivers on August 16th by the Dodgers, and it was on the west coast that, once again, the lightbulb "went on" for Evan.
In the stretch run to the postseason, Phillips made 7 appearances and recorded a 3.48 ERA as part of the team's middle relief. Then, much like his UNCW career, his high water mark came in the playoffs, when Phillips made 2 key appearances for the Dodgers in the NLCS against the Braves. He didn't allow a run over his 3 innings of work, striking out 6 in the process. And in Game 5 of the series, he recorded the Win in an 11-2 victory in front of the home fans at Dodger Stadium.
That all culminated in what we're seeing in 2022: Phillips becoming a key setup man for a contending team. It's been a rollercoaster ride of a career for the 27-year old, but to anyone who has been following the Seahawk Baseball program since his arrival back in 2012, it should come as no surprise that it's resulted in Phillips reaching such tremendous heights at the pro level.
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