Former Mudcats Pitcher Evan Phillips Earns Call to the Braves

ZEBULON, N.C. - Former Carolina Mudcats pitcher, and Clayton, N.C. native, Evan Phillips was called up to the majors today by the Atlanta Braves. Phillips pitched for the Mudcats during the 2016 season and was a mid-season Carolina League All-Star.

Phillips, 23, pitched to a 1.27 ERA over 21 appearances with the Mudcats in 2016 before a June 28, 2016 promotion to Double-A Mississippi. The Clayton High School alum was also 2-1 with 19 strikeouts, eight walks and a .180 batting average against before his mid-season promotion to Double-A. Phillips was named to the 2016 Carolina League All-Star team earlier that same month along with former Mudcats pitcher, and Green Hope High School alum Max Povse. The Braves drafted Phillips in the 17th round of the 2015 draft out of UNC Wilmington.
Tweet from @CarolinaMudcats: VIDEO: Evan Phillips pitching for the Carolina League in the 2016 All-Star game in Lake Elsinore #MudcatsFUN #Braves pic.twitter.com/9t0WkBC02Z
In 2018, Phillips had been with Triple-A Gwinnett in the Atlanta farm system before receiving his call up to the big leagues. While with Triple-A Gwinnett, Phillips had pitched to a 2.31 ERA while going 4-4-6 with 50 strikeouts and 14 walks over 35.0 innings pitched and 26 appearances.
He is the fourth former Mudcats player to receive a promotion to Major League Baseball this season; joining 2015 Mudcats catcher Josè Briceño, 2015 Mudcats outfielder Dustin Peterson and 2017 Mudcats pitcher Freddy Peralta as the former Mudcats to receive a call to the big leagues this season.
Briceno made his major-league debut with the Los Angeles Angels on May 26, while Peterson played in his first major-league game on May 28 with the Braves. Peralta made his major-league debut with the Milwaukee Brewers on May 13 and ended up setting a Milwaukee franchise record for most strikeouts by a rookie pitcher with 13 over five and 2/3 innings at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. Peralta was the first former Mudcats player to debut with the Brewers since Carolina became Milwaukee's Class-A Advanced affiliate before the 2017 season. 
The Carolina Mudcats are the proud Carolina League, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. First established in 1991, the two-time Southern League Champion Mudcats are entering their 28th consecutive season of baseball at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. The 2018 season marks the first for the Mudcats under the ownership of the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
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