Cincinnati Reds to promote Rhett Lowder for Friday’s doubleheader vs. Milwaukee
The 2023 1st round pick is set for his big league debut!
The pitching dominos within the Cincinnati Reds system have been falling at an alarming rate of late. Each of Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo have landed on the injured list this month with pitching arm injuries, joining Graham Ashcraft as sidelined options who were once integral parts of the team’s rotation.
The result is that the team has leaned heavily on its bullpen to pick up the pieces, with Nick Martinez, Buck Farmer, and Jakob Junis all getting multiple innings to begin games within the last week. With so few healthy (and promising) options available to them, it appears the Reds front office will turn to their most advanced pitching prospect to help them out.
Rhett Lowder, the club’s 1st round draftee from 2023 out of Wake Forest University, will reportedly join the roster for one of the Friday starts of the doubleheader in Great American Ball Park against Milwaukee. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the news on Wednesday afternoon just after the Reds promoted LHP Evan Kravetz as their daily pitching band-aid.
The Reds will be calling up Rhett Lowder to pitch in Game 2 of Friday’s doubleheader vs MIL.
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) August 28, 2024
Lowder is the club’s No. 2 prospect and No. 35 overall, according to MLB Pipeline.
Lowder began the year with High-A Dayton, and quickly made the move to AA Chattanooga after just a handful of starts. It was a rough go for Lowder in Southern League action initially, but he turned things around and pitched to a tidy 1.06 ERA in 34.0 IP across his final 6 starts at that level. That led to a recent promotion to AAA Louisville, where he breezed through his lone start there (so far) with 6 scoreless, walkless IP.
How long of leash will the Reds have with Lowder remains to be seen, but it’s worth pointing out he’s sitting on 108.2 IP so far this season at all stops after logging 120.1 IP at the collegiate level last year. In other words, if he continues to show his elite talent level, there will probably be a chance for him to get multiple starts for the Reds before he (and everyone else) gets shut down with an eye for 2025.
It may not be about 2024 anymore, if it ever was, but the eye towards 2025 gets a big spotlight beginning Friday.