Connor Michael Brogdon (born January 29, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Brogdon was born in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. It was established in 1890 as a freight stop for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad by a group of Fresno businessmen and Michigan railroad speculator Marcus Pollasky. The railroad bou ...

, and attended Liberty High School in Madera. Although he was drafted by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in the 40th round of the

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

, he decided to attend

Fresno City College Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semeste ...

rather than sign with the team. After two seasons there, he transferred to

Lewis–Clark State College Lewis-Clark State College is a public college in Lewiston, Idaho, United States. It was founded in 1893 and has an approximate annual enrollment of 3,600. The college offers more than 130 degrees. History In 1893, Governor William J. McConn ...

, where he was part of the 2017

NAIA World Series The NAIA World Series (officially branded as the Avista NAIA World Series for sponsorship purposes from 2013) is a double-elimination tournament, held since 1957, to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate ...

championship team. The Phillies drafted Brogdon in the 10th round of the

2017 MLB Draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He was originally intended to be a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

but became a reliever in the minor leagues to make room in the starting rotation. Brogdon played for three seasons in the Phillies'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

and was invited to an alternative training site after the 2020 minor league season was canceled. He made his MLB debut on August 13, 2020, giving up three runs to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, but he improved his performance in September.

Early life

Brogdon was born in

on January 29, 1995, and attended Liberty High School in Madera alongside

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

prospect J.J. Santa Cruz. The

(MLB) drafted Brogdon in the 40th round of the

, but he elected to attend college instead. Although Brogdon signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play for

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

, he instead attended

. In his two seasons with Fresno City College, Brogdon had a 9–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 1.85

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and he was named the

Central Valley Conference The Central Valley Conference (CVC) is a junior college athletic conference affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A). Its members are located in Central California. The CVC was formed in 1979 with eight charter ...

Pitcher of the Year. After his sophomore year, Brogdon transferred to

, where he was used as a

. In his first season at Lewis–Clark, Brogdon posted a 6–0 record, a 2.81 ERA, and 48

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 11

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games pitched, games that a pitcher has starting pitcher, started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opp ...

and

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. The next year, Brogdon recorded an 8–1 record in 15 games, led the team in innings pitched with , and was part of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA)

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

-winning team. His pitching velocity began to suffer in his senior season, dropping from the mid- range to the mid- range.

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Hilton Richardson told ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'', "I don't want to say they abused him, but he got worked a lot."

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Minor leagues

The Phillies selected Brogdon in the 10th round, 293rd overall, in the

. He was the highest Lewis–Clark draft pick since Beau Mills, who was taken in the first round. He signed with the team that year for a $5,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Brogdon made his professional debut on June 26, 2017, with the Low–A

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they w ...

, pitching innings in a 9–5 loss against the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

. Initially signed as a starting pitcher, Brogdon was moved to the Crosscutters'

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

to make room in the starting rotation for Spencer Howard and Connor Seabold. In 16 appearances and innings with the Crosscutters that season, Brogdon posted a 3–1 record and a 2.34 ERA. The next season, Brogdon was named to the preliminary

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster for the Single–A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

alongside Crosscutters teammate Howard. Overall, he went 5–3 with a 2.47 ERA, but his ERA was only 1.42 in his 38 innings as a reliever. Brogdon continued to ascend through the

the next season, beginning 2019 with the High–A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

. He made only 10 appearances with the Threshers before receiving a promotion to the Double-A

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

. After only 15 games, he was promoted again to the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

. Across all three minor-league teams that year, Brogdon had a combined 6–2 record and a 2.61 ERA in 51 appearances.

Major leagues

In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, MLB canceled the 2020

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

season. The Phillies chose to invite a handful of relievers, including Brogdon, to an alternative training site in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, in case they were needed in the majors. Brogdon was officially called up to the Phillies' roster on August 11, 2020. He made his MLB debut on August 13, appearing in the eighth inning to relieve Austin Davis against the

. On Brogdon's first pitch, Pedro Severino hit a solo home run. After recording two outs, Brogdon surrendered another home run, this one a two-run blast, to

Rio Ruiz Rio Noble Ruiz (born May 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and ...

. He was then pulled, having thrown 38 pitches in his debut. His performance improved in September, as he recorded 14 strikeouts in

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

innings that month. Brogdon recorded his first career win on September 18, 2020, in the second game of a doubleheader against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He finished the season with a 1–0 record and a 3.97 ERA in innings pitched. The Phillies called on Brogdon to pitch in the tenth inning of the season opener against the

on April 1, 2021. He threw a shutout inning and was credited with the win. Brogdon did not allow a run in the

2021 MLB season The 2021 Major League Baseball season began on April 1, while the regular season ended on October 3. The postseason began on October 5. The World Series then began on October 26 and ended on November 2 with the Atlanta Braves defeating the Houst ...

until April 20, when he gave up two three-run home runs to

Alex Dickerson Alexander Ross Dickerson (born May 26, 1990), nicknamed "Grandpa", is an American professional baseball left fielder for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball ( ...

and

Wilmer Flores Wilmer Alejandro Flores Garcia (born August 6, 1991), nicknamed "Catire", is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). On his 16th birthday in 2007, Flores signed as an internation ...

of the

, causing the Phillies to lose 10–6. Going into the 2022 season, some sportswriters expressed concern about Brogdon's performance in spring training: his fastball velocity had decreased from to , while he had trouble commanding breaking balls. He told ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' that the 2021–22 MLB lockout had negatively impacted his practice regimen, because he did not know when the 2022 MLB season would begin, and that he was "just treading water" in spring training. After allowing two runs in of an inning during the Phillies' 9–6 loss to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on April 13, Brogdon was sent back down to Triple-A. In the 2022 regular season with the Phillies, he was 2–2 with two saves and a 3.27 ERA in 47 relief appearances covering 44 innings with 50 strikeouts. Brogdon pitched in 27 contests for Philadelphia in 2023, registering a 4.03 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 29 innings pitched. Brogdon struggled for the Phillies to begin the 2024 season, posting a 27.00 ERA across his first three appearances. On April 2, 2024, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Philadelphia.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 6, 2024, Brogdon was traded to the

in exchange for Benony Robles. After only one appearance for the Dodgers, he was placed on the injured list with

plantar fasciitis Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue that supports the Arches of the foot, arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and Sole (foot), bottom of the foot that is usuall ...

in his right foot on April 13. Brogdon was transferred to the 60–day injured list on May 19. He was removed from the 40–man roster and outrighted to the minors on November 14. Brogdon subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency the following day.

Los Angeles Angels

On December 23, 2024, Brogdon signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2025 season with the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

, struggling to a 12.89 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 13 initial outings. On May 6, 2025, the Angels selected Brogdon's contract, adding him to their active roster.

Pitcher profile

Brogdon relies primarily on a three-pitch repertoire: a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

, and a hybrid of a

cutter Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * Cutt ...

and a slider. In 2020, his average fastball velocity was , an improvement over his minor league speed. Speaking after the 2020 season, Brogdon has said that his focus, as he continues his baseball career, is to be able to sustain fastball speeds over longer stretches at the mound. He developed his changeup while playing with the Reading Phillies, and is capable of reaching speeds up to with it. The "cut-slider" is his newest pitch, developed during his 2019 stint in the minors.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brogdon, Connor 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Fresno County, California Baseball players from Madera County, California Clearwater Threshers players Fresno City Rams baseball players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball players Los Angeles Angels players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City Baseball Club players Philadelphia Phillies players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Reading Fightin Phils players Salt Lake Bees players Sportspeople from Clovis, California Sportspeople from Madera, California Williamsport Crosscutters players 21st-century American sportsmen