Phil Bickford


Phillip Roger Bickford is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

Amateur career

Bickford attended Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays 10th overall in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft but did not sign with the team. He attended California State University, Fullerton for his freshman year. After his freshman season in 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he posted a 1.63 earned run average with 44 strikeouts over 27.2 innings pitched, helped lead the Red Sox to the league championship, and was named the league's Outstanding Pro Prospect. Prior to his sophomore year, he transferred to the College of Southern Nevada in order to be eligible for the 2015 draft. He was selected by the San Francisco Giants as the 18th overall pick in that draft.

Professional career

Bickford signed with the Giants for $2,333,800 and was assigned to the AZL Giants, where he spent the whole season, pitching to a 0-1 record and 2.01 ERA in ten games started. He began the 2016 season with the Augusta GreenJackets and was promoted to the San Jose Giants in June.
On August 1, 2016, the Giants traded Bickford and Andrew Susac to the Milwaukee Brewers for Will Smith. Milwaukee assigned him to the Brevard County Manatees where he finished the season. In 23 total games between Augusta, San Jose and Brevard County, Bickford posted a 7-7 record and 2.93 ERA as well as striking out 135 batters in 120 combined innings between the three clubs. He pitched only 17 innings in 2017 due to a 50 game suspension for a drug of abuse and a broken hand.