The Cincinnati Reds are getting a boost to their starting rotation. Cincy promoted their No. 2 prospect and the 35th ranked overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Rhett Lowder Friday morning. He will make his MLB debut in the second game of a doubleheader between the Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.
The Reds selected Lowder with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He comes to the majors with just over 100 innings in the minors and one Triple-A start. He's pitched at three different levels in 2024, posting a 3.64 ERA in 22 starts. Lowder has 113 strikeouts to 24 walks with an opponents batting average of .243.
Lowder's lone start in Triple-A was enough for the Reds to give him a shot in the bigs. The 22-year-old struck out seven and allowed four baserunners across six scoreless innings but did not get the win for Louisville. He hasn’t lost a start since June 21 and pitched four quality outings since.
Lowder earned a reputation as a big pitching prospect during his time at Wake Forest, particularly his junior season in 2023. He famously battled Paul Skenes on the bump in the College World Series two weeks before the pair were selected six picks apart in the MLB Draft. With the Reds and Pirates in the same division, Lowder and Skenes could match up again over the next few years.
Lowder is 12 innings away from topping his total with Wake Forest in 2023. There's no word on if the Reds will limit him, but he should get a couple of starts before the season concludes. It all begins Friday night for Rhett Lowder.
Lowder earns praise from Reds veteran
As if Rhett Lowder didn’t come with enough seals of approval, Triple-A teammate and Reds veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart was in awe of the right-hander after he caught Lowder's lone start at the level.
Barnhart recently signed with the Reds after getting released by the Arizona Diamondbacks. His opinion matters in the organization with which he's spent 11 years and they didn’t re-sign him for nothing. Barnhart was amazed by Lowder's pregame preparation and was even more impressed by his overall stuff once they hit the field.
“The plan was so clear, what he wanted to do and what he wanted to accomplish, that I was like, that’s No. 2 and I’m getting real excited to catch this guy,” Barnhart said, per The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans.
Lowder is an old-school pitcher and will bring those vibes to the majors. The Reds can use a pick-me-up, especially in the pitching staff after ace Hunter Greene recently went down. He resumed throwing today as he rehabs from a sore elbow amid his Cy Young Award-caliber season.
The Reds will likely be patient and cautious with Lowder, but they could let him loose in a few starts if he pitches well enough. They aren’t mathematically out of the playoff race but are nine games out with five teams in front and only four weeks to erase the deficit. Regardless of where Cincy ends up after the season, it's exciting to see Rhett Lowder get a big-league chance.
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