We, as Pittsburgh Pirates fans, typically hear about prospects for years. The future players are usually all we have to look forward among losing seasons. However, I did not see this Phillip Evans guy coming until he was here. Now he is the team’s best hitter and my favorite player on the team.

So who is Phillip Evans?

New York Mets

Phillip Evans is of Mexican descent. He was born, raised and educated in California where he attended La Costa Canyon High School. In 2011, Evans was drafted right out of La Costa Canyon in the 15th round by the New York Mets.

Evans did not have a particularly impressive minor league career until 2016. He batted .321 in 2016 at the A+ and AA minor league levels. He followed that up with an impressive .279 at the AAA level in 2017 before getting called up to the big club. In just 33 at-bats Evans had 10 hits, but no homeruns.

At that point Evans did not appear to be particularly powerful. However, after not making the major league squad in 2018, he had 14 homeruns in AAA before getting called up again. This time, though, he struggled mightily. He batted just .143 for the Mets accumulating 21 more major league at-bats along the way.

The legend of Phillip Evans continues. pic.twitter.com/rP0eOKZ0eY

— Pirates (@Pirates) April 11, 2021

Chicago Cubs

After electing for free-agency at the end of the 2018 season, Evans signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. He continued to display some power adding 17 more homeruns and 61 RBI to his AAA career stats. However, despite that, he again became a free agent at the end of the 2019 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On Dec. 17, 2019, Phillip Evans signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then he has taken the Pirates lineup by storm. In 76 plate appearances with the Pirates, he is batting .373 with 4 HRs, 13 RBI, 3 Doubles and 7 Walks.

Unfortunately, in August 2020, Evans was involved in a brutal collision with outfielder Gregory Polanco. He was stretchered off the field, suffering a broken jaw and a concussion. Evans’ 2020 season was over.

Evans began the 2021 season on the Pirates bench. However, when Ke’Bryan Hayes landed on the 10-day IL this season, it gave Evans the opportunity to start at third base. He has taken his opportunity and sprinted with it.

So far in 2021, he has 31 plate appearances. With these appearances, he has 11 hits, 3 homeruns, a double and 2 walks. His slash line is a team-best .393/.452/.750 for an OPS of 1.202. Evans also accounted for two hits in each of the Pirates wins this past weekend.

The Pirates beat the Cubs 8 to 2 tonight at PNC Park. After the game, Phillip Evans joined Robby Incmikoski to talk about the win, his hot bat and his family being in town to catch his big night. pic.twitter.com/LAZqePbTdp

— AT&T SportsNet PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) April 11, 2021

So now that we know a little bit more about who Phillip Evans is and where he came from, we have nothing left to do except continue to admire his hitting for the Pirates. Additionally, since he is pre-arbitration, even at 28 years old he is a guy worth signing long-term. The biggest problem will be finding him a spot once Hayes returns from the IL.

There have been discussions of trying him out in the outfield. I, for one, would love to see Evans take Polanco’s spot. Polanco continues to struggle everywhere on the field. He is batting .143 with 11 strikeouts and cannot throw the ball in from right field. Right field is the perfect place for Evans to continue to get at-bats right in front of or behind Hayes in the lineup.

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