Marcus Phillips drafted by Boston Red Sox with No. 33 overall pick
Tennessee right-handed pitcher Marcus Phillips was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the No. 33 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday night, making it four first round draft selections for the Vols in 2025.
That sets a new program record as the 2007 trio of J.P Arencibia, Julio Borbon and James Adkins previously held the mark.
Phillips moved into the starting rotation as a junior with the Vols in 2025, making 17 starts with a 3.90 ERA and a 4-5 overall record. He tossed 83.0 innings on the year – second on the team to Liam Doyle – with 98 strikeouts to 34 walks. Opponents tallied a .239 clip against the 6-foot-4, 245-pound native from Sioux Falls, S.D. The slot value assigned to this pick is $2,898,300.
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The hurler tossed a seven-inning gem against Florida on March 15 where he allowed no runs. He struck out a career-high eight batters on four occasions, most recently against Cincinnati in the Knoxville Regional.
His first season with Tennessee in 2024 – fresh out of junior college – Phillips appeared in 19 games, making two starts, with a 4.95 ERA across 20.0 innings pitched. He struck out 22 and walked 15 batters throughout his first season of Southeastern Conference play.
Scouting Report from MLB.com
Fastball: 65 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50
“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. 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 is 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.”
