How Cincinnati Reds prospect Rhett Lowder might find fast track to MLB debut in 2024
SAN DIEGO – Rhett Lowder was in a trade rumor before he was ever in a professional game after the Cincinnati Reds drafted him seventh overall last summer.
Could he be in the majors before he finishes a first pro season?
It might not be any more crazy to think than believing Elly De La Cruz threw a baseball across the diamond 106.9 mph the other night.
And everybody on the field and in the Reds dugout believed that one.
“I mean, I believed it when I heard it,” Reds manager David Bell said.
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Still does, he said. Even after MLB failed to validate the number and pulled the velocity reading from its site soon after it registered.
Lowder’s path to the big leagues might not be quite that fast, but if the polished right-hander keeps doing what he’s done so far at high-A Dayton, don’t be shocked if he’s pitching a few innings for the Reds late this season.
Bell’s not making any predictions, especially this early, but Lowder impressed during big-league camp at spring training, Bell said, and his six dominant innings in his last start earned him more notice as the Pitcher of the Week in the Midwest League.
“He started where he started for a reason,” Bell said. “There’s things to learn and development to be had. But as far as how quick that could go, I never put limits on anyone. I think anything’s possible.”
The organization has shown little fear the past year or two in pushing prospects on relatively fast tracks when they check developmental boxes and perform.
Lowder recognized that, too, as he joined the organization and went from pitching a gem for Wake Forest in the College World Series last June to a big-league mound in spring training in February for his next appearance — a scoreless inning against the Milwaukee Brewers with two strikeouts.
“Like riding a bike,” said Lowder after the quick-paced work following the longest layoff between games of his young life.
“It’s just super exciting. I know the opportunity will be there,” he said during the spring. “I just have to get out there and do what I do, and then hopefully that leads to somewhere good.
“I think I can provide help to this team pretty quick.”
Even with one start in which he gave up three walks and three runs, Lowder has a 1.86 ERA in four starts, with 20 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings (six walks). Opponents are hitting .183 against him, and he’s allowed less than a runner per inning.
And nobody's ruling out giving him a chance to help a possible playoff drive late in the season if he's climbed another rung or two in the organization and looks ready.
“It’s exciting,” Bell said. “He’s a great guy, and he’s very much a pitcher, I would say, and he has a great arm to go with it.”
He also appears have some pretty fair poise and maturity to go with it.
During the offseason, he and a few other prospects showed up in trade rumors, one in particular involving the White Sox and Dylan Cease (who was eventually traded to San Diego).
“I don’t know how much truth there was behind it,” he said. “And I didn’t really ask or try to get caught up in anything.
“I didn’t give it the time of day.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can raw Cincinnati Reds prospect Rhett Lowder be depth down stretch?
