Ranking the 10 most important young players for the Reds future

9. Connor Phillips, Reds pitching prospect

Connor Phillips falls into a very similar category as the aforementioned Chase Petty. Phillips, who is a little older than Petty, is gunning for a future spot in the Cincinnati Reds rotation. The right-hander was the player to be named later in the trade that sent Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker to the Seattle Mariners.

Phillips had an unexpectedly solid season at both High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga last season. Phillips was 5-8 with a 3.78 ERA and 150 strikeouts in just under 100 innings pitched. A 31.7-percent strikeout-rate is a really good way to get noticed.

This season, Phillips has begun his season back at Double-A, but it's only a matter of time before the right-hander is promoted to Triple-A Louisville. Phillips has picked up where he left off in 2022 and has even improved in some areas with a strikeout-rate going up and a walk-rate going down.

Connor Phillips, like so many top pitching prospects within the Cincinnati Reds organization, is being given the chance to work his way into the team's starting rotation. Phillips has some of the best stuff in the farm system and could be a key piece of the rotation or, at worst, a big part of the bullpen.