Brandon Phillips

Brandon Emil Phillips (born June 28, 1981), is an American-born professional baseball second baseman for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds.

The Raleigh, North Carolina native was selected in the second round of the 1999 draft by the former Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) after signing a letter of intent to play both baseball and football at the University of Georgia. However, he instead signed with the Expos on June 21, 1999.

Once considered one of the top prospects in the Expos farm system, Phillips was nonetheless traded to the Cleveland Indians with left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee, outfielder Grady Sizemore, and first baseman/outfielder Lee Stevens for right-handed pitchers Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew on July 27, 2002. Phillips made his debut as a September call-up that year on September 13 versus the Minnesota Twins in Cleveland.

Phillips was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on April 7, 2006 for a player to be named later, which turned out to be right-handed pitcher Jeff Stevens.

Phillips attended Redan High School in DeKalb County, Georgia where he played basketball and baseball. His #7 at Redan was retired by the school in December 2003. Phillips' favorite baseball player growing up was Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin. In 2003, he participated in the Giant Eagle Baseball Camps and the Big League Lunch Program. His sister, Porsha, is a talented high school basketball player in Georgia and his 18-year-old brother, P.J., is an up and coming baseball and basketball player at Redan HS. He currently resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia.