The Cincinnati Reds are currently in fourth place in the National League Central and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 12.5 games, they are also nine games back of the third and final National League Wild Card. The Reds will face the Oakland A’s tonight following last night’s series-opening loss 5-4. In the loss Tyler Stephenson went 3-4 with three runs scored, he was driven in on a Ty France single, a Santiago Espinal walk, and a Spencer Steer single. The Reds tried to comeback last night as they scored two runs in the ninth but it wasn’t enough. The Reds are still mathematically alive in the playoff race but it’s a tough hill to climb so fans will be getting something exciting to watch on Friday as it has been announced today that RHP Rhett Lowder who is the 20th-ranked prospect by ITD and the fourth-ranked RHP prospect overall and he will also start on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers as the two teams will play a doubleheader, it’s not known which game he will be starting but game one is at 12:40 PM EST, and game two is at 6:40 PM EST.
RHP – Rhett Lowder
Lowder was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, and he’s quickly made his way up the system. He didn’t pitch last season and he started the 2024 season at High-A Dayton making five starts going 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 10.3 K/9 in 25.1 innings. He was then promoted to Double-A Chattanooga where he made 16 starts going 4-4 with a 4.31 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, a 2.1 BB/9, and a 9.0 K/9 in 77.1 innings. On August 20th he was assigned to Triple-A Louisville and he made his first start on Thursday going six shutout innings giving up three hits; he didn’t issue a walk, although hitting a batter, and he struck out seven. The Reds saw enough from Lowder in that one start to give him a shot at the big leagues and see what he can do against MLB talent. Friday’s game will be a must-watch game for all Reds fans as one of the big future arms of the team will be making his debut.
