MLB Rumors: Rhett Lowder to Be Called Up by Reds; No. 35 Prospect in Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds are calling up No. 2 prospect (No. 35 in MLB) and right-handed starting pitcher Rhett Lowder to the majors, per The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans, who added that the 22-year-old will start for the team Friday at home against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lowder, who stands at 6'2" and 200 pounds, has gone 6-4 with a 3.64 ERA (1.15 WHIP) and 113 strikeouts over 108.2 innings (22 starts) for High-A Dayton, Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville.

Lowder made just one start for Louisville before the Reds called him to the bigs, striking out seven over six shutout innings while allowing three hits and no walks against Gwinnett last Thursday.

Lowder joined the Reds in 2023 after Cincinnati selected the ex-Wake Forest star with the seventh overall pick in the MLB draft. Last month, he pitched for the National League in the All-Star Futures Game, throwing one shutout inning while allowing one hit and striking out one.

Lowder starred at Wake Forest, going 15-0 with a 1.87 ERA and 143 strikeouts over 120.1 innings in his final season. He didn't pitch in 2023 after his collegiate season ended, but he didn't even need one year in the minors before the Reds felt he was ready for a call-up.

The MLB.com scouting report raves about Lowder, who has a bright future ahead of him.

"Lowder's feel for pitching is so good that sometimes his pure stuff is underrated. His fastball can tap out at around 97 mph, sitting easily in the 92-95 mph range, and it has more sink than ride, getting a lot of weak ground-ball contact. He brings one of the best changeups in the college game to the Reds, a mid-80s offering with huge fade that he'll throw to hitters on both sides of the plate. His low-80s slider has more depth than sweep, and it flashes plus."

Per Sam Dykstra of MLB.com, Lowder is now the eighth member of the draft class of 2023 to make the big leagues.

Lowder receives a tough assignment to start against a 75-56 Brewers team enjoying a nine-game lead in the NL Central, but he arrives in MLB riding the high of a tremendous Triple-A start. Given his tremendous potential and success, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Lowder end this year on a high note for the Reds.