The Cincinnati Reds added a major prospect to their outstanding farm system tonight. With the seventh overall pick in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Reds selected pitcher Rhett Lowder from Wake Forest.
Lowder is a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher who won ACC Pitcher of the Year in each of the last two seasons. In 2023, he pitched to a 15-0 record and a 1.87 ERA in 120 1/3 innings. Lowder also struck out 143 batters and walked just 24 this past season.
Who is Lowder?
The right-hander from Albemarle, North Carolina is an eccentric personality on and off the field. Lowder’s flowing brown locks contribute to the swagger and moxie he pitches with. He is also both an excellent painter of the strike-zone and the canvas.
While his fastball sits in the mid-90s and has touched 97 mph, his secondary pitches are what makes him great. Lowder’s changeup is thought of as the best in the 2023 draft class and his slider is also a plus-pitch at this point. He presents excellent control and command inside the zone as well.
The only concern with Lowder is that many scouts project him to have a limited ceiling compared to other options at the top of the draft. Much of that projection is due to Wake Forest’s advanced ‘Pitching Lab’ which is considered one of the best in the nation. Why might that be a negative?
Lowder has had similar resources available to him that he will in Major League Baseball. He has been able to shape his pitches with incredible precision for three years. This has helped him dominate at a Power-Five level thus far but, because of this, there is not much projection left to do with Lowder. Although that has an inherent positive in itself.
The Los Angeles Angels selected Reid Detmers in the 2020 MLB Draft. Detmers made his big-league debut on August 1, 2021. Lowder has been favorably compared to Detmers in that he could similarly move through the Cincinnati farm system.
It is no secret that the Reds’ weakness this season has been its starting pitching. Taking a player with the floor of Lowder and the ability to get to Cincinnati quickly makes a ton of sense as they look to jump into World Series contention within the next few seasons.
Stay tuned for more breaking MLB content, including trade deadline information, power rankings and more news from every team.
Featured image courtesy of Reds.com
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