Reports: Reds will call up one of their top pitching prospects

Rhett Lowder will make his big-league debut against Brewers
Rhett Lowder made five starts this season for the Dragons before being promoted to Double-A Chattanooga. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

Rhett Lowder made five starts this season for the Dragons before being promoted to Double-A Chattanooga. Jeff Gilbert/CONTRIBUTED

The Cincinnati Reds will promote one of their top pitching prospects, Rhett Lowder, to the big leagues for the first time this week, according to multiple reports Wednesday.

Mark Sheldon, of MLB.com, reported Lowder will start the second game of a doubleheader Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park.

Lowder will join a starting rotation decimated by injuries. Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo, the only three pitchers who have started more than 20 games this season for the Reds, are all sidelined. Graham Ashcraft, who has made 15 starts, is also injured.

Fernando Cruz made his first start of the season Wednesday in the second game of a series against the Oakland Athletics after 61 relief appearances. Jakob Junis started the series opener Tuesday as the Reds lost 5-4. It was his first start of the season after eight relief appearances.

Lowder, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 draft, started the season with the Single-A Dayton Dragons. He was 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA in five starts before being promoted to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in May.

Lowder was 4-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts at Double-A before being promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats on Aug. 20. In his first start with Louisville on Aug. 22, Lowder threw six scoreless innings.

Lowder represented the Reds at the Futures Game in July. He’s the second-ranked minor league prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com, behind right-handed pitcher Chase Burns, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft.

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