SURPRISE, Ariz. -- A rough second start in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 16 looked like it might derail the bounceback journey of Connor Phillips, but the Reds¡¯ No. 15 prospect had other ideas.

Phillips closed a disastrous regular season at Triple-A Louisville with a strong five-start stretch, and the 23-year-old right-hander headed to the desert looking to build off that. He debuted in the Fall League with a gem that earned him Pitcher of the Week honors for Week 1, but Phillips allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 2 1/3 innings during start No. 2.

Rather than panic, Phillips regrouped.

Since that clunker for Glendale, Phillips has been lights-out, allowing two runs (one earned) across three starts (11 innings). His latest effort -- an unearned run on two hits with five strikeouts in four innings -- paved the way for the Desert Dogs¡¯ 8-1 win over the Surprise Saguaros on Thursday night.

¡°I¡¯ve been in a really good place mentally, coming off the season,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve been really excited to be out here and to keep pitching, making sure I really fortify what I¡¯m working on.¡±

Shaking off one bad start was nothing for Phillips. After all, he¡¯s spent the past three months putting the most trying part of his pro career behind him.

Phillips, who was the player to be named later to complete the Eugenio Suarez-Jesse Winker trade with the Mariners in March 2022, rose quickly up the ranks in the Reds¡¯ system and made his big league debut with Cincinnati down the stretch in ¡®23. But when he returned to Louisville to start this past season, he couldn¡¯t get his feet under him.

With his ERA sitting at 10.11 on June 19 after 14 starts for the Bats, he was sent to the organization¡¯s Rookie-level Arizona Complex League team to sort out his mechanics and clear his head.

¡°At the beginning of the year, it was really, really rough,¡± Phillips said. ¡°I was thinking something different every single day, and that was really not a good place to be in. I don¡¯t think anyone wants to be in the place as a pitcher in the game of baseball.¡±

The work he put in with the ACL Reds paid off, as he returned to Louisville on Aug. 21 and posted a 2.49 ERA over five starts. More than the numbers, Phillips had gained a mental edge, finding something positive amid the adversity.

¡°I now know that I can get through a really, really tough stretch,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯d never gone through anything in baseball like this, where I had literally no idea what I was doing out there. Now I understand, like, ¡®Hey, you can do this, even when the going gets tough.¡¯¡±

It¡¯s nice to also have a fastball that sits between 96-99 mph and a wipeout slider that Phillips considers his best pitch. It¡¯s just a matter of finding the strike zone, which has been a focus for him during the Fall League.

¡°I know if I¡¯m in the zone, my stuff is very, very good and I can get people out,¡± he said.

Phillips didn¡¯t necessarily come out to the desert to tinker with things. His focus is on getting ready for Spring Training and another run at the Reds¡¯ roster, but he made a couple small adjustments that are starting to pay off.

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¡°Being able to come out here and figure some stuff out and go back out and throw together some good innings is really, really big for me,¡± he said. ¡°I changed some stuff up, and I thought today was really, really good, showed some really good signs.¡±

The Fall League has been a solid ramp-up for Spring Training for Phillips, and he¡¯s ready to let the cards fall where they may.

¡°The team¡¯s going to do what the team wants to do,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t have a say in that, but I want to make it a tough decision for them, making sure that I come out [to Spring Training] with my best stuff and that my body feels good.¡±