The Boston Red Sox added a pair of college pitchers with their first two selections in the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday night.
After selecting Oklahoma product Kyson Witherspoon with the 15th overall pick, Craig Breslow and company doubled down and drafted Marcus Phillips with the No. 33 pick.
Phillips compiled 3.90 ERA while striking out 98 batters in 83 innings for the Tennessee Volunteers during the 2025 campaign. He served as Tennessee’s second starter behind left-hander Liam Doyle, who was drafted fifth overall.
MLB Pipeline ranked Phillips its No. 61 draft prospect ahead of the event, but lauded his speed and size (6-foot-4, 246 pounds).
You can read the full scouting report here:
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“Scouts first identified Marcus Phillips when he was a South Dakota high schooler, but injuries and inconsistent strikes limited his opportunities to pitch as a senior as well as during his freshman season at Iowa Western CC,”MLB Pipeline wrote. “He showcased a live, if erratic, arm as a reliever on Tennessee’s 2024 Men’s College World Series championship club, then seized the Volunteers’ No. 2 starter role this spring. Few college pitchers in this class can match his velocity and physicality.
“Phillips can blow hitters away with a fastball that sits at 96-98 mph and touches 100, compensating for lackluster shape with deceptively low release height and plenty of carry and extension. His slider parks in the mid-80s and reaches 90 mph with more depth than sweep. He doesn’t use his low-90s changeup very often, but it features so much fade that it creates more chases and empty swings than his heater and slide piece.
“At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, Phillips has a build reminiscent of Kumar Rocker’s and is more athletic than the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 Draft. He’s a former two-way player who flashed solid power and speed as an outfielder at Iowa Western. He gets down the mound well and has improved his control as a junior, though he doesn’t have the smoothest arm action and may never have more than fringy command.”
Breslow and the Red Sox continue to make pitching a priority and almost certainly will add more hurlers as the 2025 MLB Draft continues.
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