Red Sox Select RHP Marcus Phillips 33rd Overall In The 2025 MLB Draft

[Nick John]

The Red Sox selected Marcus Phillips with the 33rd overall pick in the MLB Draft. Phillips was ranked 53rd overall on the TalkSox draft board.

Phillips worked primarily as a reliever in his first two seasons at Tennessee before transitioning into a starting role in 2025.

The fastball is tough. He can get a run and ride heater up to 100 mph, sitting at 97 mph with good extension from a lower release height. His breaking pitch is a power slider, with good horizontal break, that he throws in the 88-92 mph range, something that pro teams will covet. There's also the makings of a good changeup, with a ton of horizontal break, but he throws it incredibly hard (92 mph) and there might not be enough velo separation from the fastball there.

In 2025 he struck out more hitters and walked less. The strike throwing had been a little spotty entering 2025. He finished the season with a 4.08 FIP, 27.3 K%, and a 9.5 BB%. It’s elite arm talent and nasty stuff, with command issues and reliever risk.

Phillips follows a trend by Craig Breslow, who has drafted 16 pitchers in his first 22 picks since being named Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer. Phillips, who measures at 6'4" and 246 lbs, also follows the trend of the Red Sox drafting large players who can throw hard after they took pitchers Payton Tolle, Brandon Clarke, and Brandon Neely all of whom are at least 6'3" tall and their fastballs can reach at least 97 mph.

For Tennessee in the 2025 season, Phillips had a 3.90 ERA in 83 innings across 17 starts where he struck out 98 batters. Prior to joining the Vols in 2024, he was a reliever his freshman season for Iowa Western Community College. 

Phillips is the second SEC arm the Sox have drafted in the 2025 draft after taking Kyson Witherspoon with their first-round pick at 15th overall. The pick used to draft Phillips was acquired as part of an April trade with Milwaukee that saw right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester shipped to the Brewers. 

Should Phillips continue to improve upon his command issues and see his walk rate continue to drop, he could be another pitching prospect that turns what used to be a dearth for the Red Sox into a surplus. At worst, he could turn into a reliever who relies on a fastball-slider combination that could rack up strikeouts while also walking his fair share of batters. Unlike Witherspoon, Phillips could take a little longer to move through the system depending on his ability to limit walks. Should he show an ability to locate his fastball, however, Phillips could breeze through the lower levels of the minors. 

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