Rhett Lowder starting Friday...

[MoneyInTheBank]

I still would like the Reds to pick up a starting pitcher in the offseason. Injuries always happen, especially to Lodolo. If Lowder is in the majors, and Greene, Lodolo, Ashcraft, Abbot et al are humming along, you can always trade a pitcher mid season, and you would be trading from a position of strength. Then you have Burns and/or Petty to back that up in the 2nd half of the season. Payroll is low enough to add a decent pitcher.

I tend to think it will be more of a swingman

[schroomytunes]

I tend to think it will be more of a swingman

I also think it will be more of a swingman or #4/5 starter to stabilize the rotation. I could see us going with a rotation of:

1) Greene 2) Abbott 3) Lowder 4) LORENZEN (KC) 5) Lodolo/Wiliiamson with each getting around 130 innings. I think any money spent in the offseason will be towards offense.

bats:

1) Max Kepler- RF (Twins) fits a need in RF will be within our price range.

2) Jesse Winker- DH (Mets) he becomes the full time DH, with Candy back at 3b/1b. another bargain signing.

- these 2 moves should move the needle with the return of McClain to make our offense more potent while still giving others at bats (CES, Marte)

[WrongVerb]

My offseason pitching target is Walker Buehler. He'll be over a season removed from Tommy John, he's unrestricted, and he is from Louisville, I believe.

[VI_RedsFan]

Buehler was also a Reds fan growing up, and we know the front office/ownership loves that kind of stuff. If the price is right, Buehler could be a good fit. He's looked awful this year but would be a similarly high-risk, high-reward signing like Montas was -- even on a one-year deal -- but with even higher upside while also being further away from his major injury.

I like where your head's at, schroomytunes. I'm not crazy about the idea of bringing Winker back but I do like Kepler as a realistic signing. Great defense and doesn't need to be platooned. I do worry about his injury history and lack of power, though. 2023 and 2019 appear to be outlier home-run total seasons for him.

[Ron Madden]

"He knows how to pitch"

For Reds fans already wanting to look ahead to 2025, starting pitching prospect Rhett Lowder's performance sure was easy on the eyes.

In his two starts for Cincinnati -- both against first-place teams -- Lowder has allowed one run and six hits over 10 1/3 innings.

This time, Lowder didn't have the emotional pressure of a debut.

“I felt a little bit more comfortable out there, for sure,” Lowder said. "I just tried to approach it the same way. Every inning along is just the more I learn.”

“He’s a special player. Just the amount of confidence he went out there with. It’s a stacked lineup. For him to do what he did today, almost seven shutout [innings], that’s impressive," said France, who went 9-for-11 in the series, the best series by a Reds player since Cy Seymour did the same vs. the Cardinals in 1905.

The Reds are 4-0 in September and 68-73 for the season with 21 games remaining. Although making the postseason appears highly unlikely, the next month will offer Lowder plenty of opportunities to establish his foothold for a spot in the 2025 rotation.

Lowder got his chance in the first place because established starters like All-Star Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo remain on the injured list.

“It’s awesome to get up here. I didn’t really try to put a timeline on myself," Lowder said. "I felt like that was out of my hands. All I could do was go out, try to put together good starts and good innings, and it just happened to be now. This experience is huge. I just want to throw up as many zeros as I can and learn as much as I can.”

Read full story here:
https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/rhett-...hut-out-astros

[Rojo Rijo]

Burns taking a Lowder path means he'll be up next year which is what I think the Reds expect. Burns and Petty could be pretty close in arrival dates(mid 2025-early 2026). Lowder pitching this well probably means they will forgo getting a vet SP this off season. I'm ok with it if they load up on a good pen, and get a real difference maker bat.

yeah you're right, I was a year off for some reason....

[BCubb2003]

"He knows how to pitch"
Read full story here:
https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/rhett-...hut-out-astros

Somebody should send that book to all the pitchers.

[Ron Madden]

3 Reds players who won't make the 2025 roster thanks to Rhett Lowder's emergence

I'm just sharing this article, to see what RedsZone thinks.

Rhett Lowder looks like a lock to slot into the 2025 pitching rotation, which could mean bad news for these three pitchers in the Reds system.

3. RHP Graham Ashcraft
For the last few seasons, Graham Ashcraft has been a staple of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff. He's been up and down, but when healthy, he's been one of David Bell's guys on the mound.

Unfortunately, due to an injury, other pitchers have gotten their chance to throw, and they have done well. While Ashcraft has sat on the injured list or struggled for all of 2024, players like Rhett Lowder have come up and made a name for themselves.

This is going to leave the Reds with a few options for their young starter, Graham Ashcraft. They could keep him in the minor leagues and let him continue to work on his craft, potentially as a reliever. Or they could opt to trade him elsewhere to give him a chance to restart his career.

Cincinnati could lean either way, but the odds of him starting the season with the big league roster, as a starter, aren't very high. Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, Lowder and a few other names have all outperformed Ashcraft of late. It's an unfortunate situation for the young righty, but given his 98 MPH cutter, I would venture to say that his big-league career is far from over.

2. RHP Julian Aguiar
There's no doubt that he has the potential and talent to be successful in the big leagues. The young righty has flashed this potential every time out. Unfortunately for him, Cincinnati is just loaded with young pitching talent, including their 2024 top draft pick Chase Burns, who could also find himself in Cincinnati by the end of next year.

1. LHP Brandon Williamson
Out of this list, this was the hardest one to decide on. Last season, Brandon Williamson was very talented and flashed a ton of big-league potential. He offers multiple different off-speed pitches from the left side. But Cincinnati isn't particularly starved for left-isn't d starters.

read full article here:
https://fansided.com/posts/3-reds-pl...er-s-emergence

[CaiGuy]

3 Reds players who won't make the 2025 roster thanks to Rhett Lowder's emergence
read full article here:
https://fansided.com/posts/3-reds-pl...er-s-emergence

All of these guys will start games for the 2025 Reds, especially if they don't add a starter, but even if they do.

At any given time from spring onwards there will be starters on the IL.

[Mitri]

All of these guys will start games for the 2025 Reds, especially if they don't add a starter, but even if they do.

At any given time from spring onwards there will be starters on the IL.

It's a ridiculous article. Unless they are traded, all three will be pitching for the Reds in some capacity.

- Williamson has looked sharp in his return and is, at worst, a valuable swingman.
- Ashcraft would look good in the bullpen if he's healthy enough to pitch.
- Aguiar will likely be in AAA and will be back and forth between LOU and CIN.

[mth123]

What I'd like to see.

Greene, Abbott, Acquisition, Lodolo, Lowder

Williamson works his way back from a missed season in the Martinez hybrid role. (Probably makes 15 to 20 starts. He and Lodolo switch roles back and forth to manage innings if both stay healthy by some miracle).

Spiers, Suter, Pagan, Moll, Santillan, Diaz and somebody new in the pen.

Aguiar, Acuna, Petty, Phillips in AAA rotation. eventually Burns joins them.

Zulueta, Maxwell and Moore in the AAA bullpen.

Ashcraft, Gibaut and Antone as wildcards, but I wouldn't plan on much from them. Gibaut and Antone are arb eligible and may be non-tendered to make room on the 40 man if they don't agree to a cheap 2025 (meaning $1 Million or less).

[*BaseClogger*]

I’d hold onto Ashcraft for either depth or especially because I think he’d make a good middle reliever. Needs to be a decent return if he’s traded.

I would not pencil him into the rotation though.

[Bourgeois Zee]

What I'd like to see.

Greene, Abbott, Acquisition, Lodolo, Lowder

Williamson works his way back from a missed season in the Martinez hybrid role. (Probably makes 15 to 20 starts. He and Lodolo switch roles back and forth to manage innings if both stay healthy by some miracle).

Spiers, Suter, Pagan, Moll, Santillan, Diaz and somebody new in the pen.

Aguiar, Acuna, Petty, Phillips in AAA rotation. eventually Burns joins them.

Zulueta, Maxwell and Moore in the AAA bullpen.

Ashcraft, Gibaut and Antone as wildcards, but I wouldn't plan on much from them. Gibaut and Antone are arb eligible and may be non-tendered to make room on the 40 man if they don't agree to a cheap 2025 (meaning $1 Million or less).

Love Williamson in the Martinez role. I also believe Ashcraft would be exemplary in that role. I'd put Richardson and Phillips-- already on the 40-man roster-- in the pen full-time. (First in Louisville, then in Cincinnati as needed.) They can both play that multi-inning role as well. Spiers would be in that mix as well, either as a BOR AAA SP or as a relief arm.

Five guys for two spots makes all sorts of sense and should allow Krall to save some bullpen innings for late in the season.

He also has plenty of young untested AAA options beyond Phillips who are (or should be) higher than he on the prospect pecking order if they have injuries the spot starters can cover: Spiers as a SP in-waiting (who can also relieve), Aguiar, Petty, and (later in the season, perhaps) Burns are all real choices.

Gibaut, if healthy, will be both fairly cheap and has shown that he can be effective. He's out of options so he'll be in the mix, for sure. I'd tender him with the idea that he can be effective.

Santillan's emergence has lessened the need for a shut-down guy, but they still need a more effective closer than Diaz, IMO. I'm hoping they can sign one and trade Diaz for a RF (or DH or 3B or CF or LF or...).

[Ron Madden]

Getting to know all about Rhett Lowder
Bill Ladson of MLB.com

In a recent conversation with Bill Ladson of MLB.com, right-hander Rhett Lowder, the second-best prospect in the Reds organization according to MLB Pipeline, answered a wide range of topics from his battle with Paul Skenes in college to his first professional season in baseball.

MLB.com: This is your first season in professional baseball. Tell me what the season has been like? It must have been a whirlwind.

Lowder: Oh yeah. It has been crazy. So I got drafted last year, but this is my first full year of pro ball. So I started in High-A and I jumped to a bunch of different levels, but I met a lot of new guys. I came in with no expectations. I was just trying to enjoy it.

MLB.com: Why didn’t you play pro ball after you were drafted out of college in 2023?

Lowder: I had a lot of innings in college, like 120 innings. [The Reds] were not looking for too much of an increase … and they felt I was in a pretty good spot to endure a full season this year from where I left off last year.

MLB.com: People forget that you faced Skenes in the semifinals in the College World Series in 2023. You pitched seven shutout innings for Wake Forest and Skenes threw eight shutout innings for LSU. What was it was like to battle Skenes?

Lowder: That was a lot of fun. In the moment, we were one game away from getting into the final series. Really, everyone was just trying to win that game. That was all on my mind. Looking back on it, it was super cool. Great matchup. Paul is a great guy. It’s super cool to look back on it. It was a classic.

MLB.com: Next year you will face Skenes in the big leagues. Everyone will make a big deal about it because of the matchup between you two in college.

Lowder: I try not to get too caught up in what everyone is saying about [that matchup]. At the same time, we are in the same division. I’m sure we will see each other a lot.

Read More Here:
https://www.mlb.com/reds/news/rhett-...eline-coverage

[KeefeCato]

I agree with everyone saying Ashcraft to the bullpen. I think he would do well.