Young arms Aguiar, Lowder reach MLB amidst injuries to Reds rotation

CINCINNATI -- It wasn't necessarily the plan all along, but injuries that ransacked the Reds' rotation sped up the timeline for the organization's next wave of young arms to reach the big leagues.

First, No. 11 Reds prospect Julian Aguiar stepped in for Hunter Greene 10 days ago. On Friday, it's No. 2 Reds prospect Rhett Lowder's turn. Both spent the bulk of their 2024 seasons at Double-A.

“I think it’s an awesome opportunity for them," Reds catcher Luke Maile said. "It’s a good opportunity for the team as well, moving forward. Any time you have guys who have a chance to knock the door down and create some competition internally, it’s always a good thing.”

Aguiar, 23, made his third big league start in Thursday's series finale and was picked up by his offense for a no-decision during a 10-9 walk-off win over the A's at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati, which trailed 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning as Aguiar struggled and 9-7 in the ninth after Alexis Díaz blew a save, battled back with three runs capped by TJ Friedl's two-run single through the right side.

“I’m learning from each outing. Obviously the first two were good and I definitely learned from the third," said Aguiar, who had a 3.60 ERA entering the series finale. "It’s going to be a big stepping stone after this one. You take and learn from the good outings and learn from the bad outings. I’m ready for the next one.”

Aguiar understands the opportunity that he and Lowder have with a month left in the season.

“It just opens up eyes for everybody getting us young guys in there," he said. "It gets us more comfortable up here in the big leagues. The goal is obviously to stay up here.”

The 22-year-old Lowder -- ranked the No. 35 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline -- is scheduled to make his Major League debut Friday in Game 2 of a split doubleheader vs. the National League Central-leading Brewers. Lowder's promotion came after one start at Triple-A Louisville and 22 Minor League games overall.

“I honestly feel really good with where my game is at right now," said Lowder, who was added to Cincinnati's taxi squad on Thursday. "I feel sharp and I just trust I can get outs at any level. I try not to worry about the opposition that much and just do what I do.”

Lowder, the seventh overall pick in the 2023 Draft, made a smooth transition from Wake Forest University to pitching professionally at High-A Dayton, where he had a 2.49 ERA in five starts.

At Double-A Chattanooga, the learning curve steepened. Over the first 11 starts, Lowder had a 6.52 ERA with 65 hits, 11 walks and 50 strikeouts over 48 1/3 innings.

“I definitely think it was good for me," Lowder said. "Coming into pro ball, I didn’t have much direction. I kind of had to just go out there and throw. In Dayton, I was just throwing and seeing how hitters reacted.

"As I moved up, I was getting that feedback from the hitters because I needed to know where I needed to improve at this level. I quickly found out. Being able to gameplan a little better, I kind of needed some of that. It’s not realistic to expect to have success at every single level. You don’t learn. It definitely opened my eyes to some weaknesses in my game."

Lowder learned to use the strength of his four-pitch mix -- a four-seam fastball, sinker, changeup and slider -- while figuring out what worked vs. opposing hitters.

Over his final five starts at Chattanooga, Lowder went 3-0 with a 0.62 ERA with 15 hits, seven walks and 27 strikeouts over 29 innings.

"I feel like there’s a little bit of a wider margin in college," he said. "When you’re preparing for hitters, it’s a little bit more obvious about how to attack them. When you get into pro ball, you’ll get some guys you’ll have to dig a little bit deeper on. I think that just overlaying that with what I know I do well has been a big thing for me."

Maile saw what Lowder does well during his first big league camp. He caught for him during a March 3 exhibition game vs. the Royals -- where the right-hander gave up one earned run and three hits over two innings.

"What I remember is the innings could have been a lot worse," Maile said. "He made smart pitches. He pitched around a hitter with a base open. He kind of neutralized what could have been a lot worse. You don’t see too many young guys able to do that, especially in their first camp. Whether it translates to the regular season, we’ll find out. But I suspect that if you have that type of mentality as a pitcher, it usually leads to good things.”

At Louisville on Aug. 22, Lowder pitched six scoreless innings with three hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. His catcher was Tucker Barnhart, who spent seven big league seasons with the Reds from 2014-21. Barnhart returned to the organization on a Minor League deal earlier this month.

"We were on the same page the whole time," Lowder said. "I maybe shook once or twice, so that’s always a good feeling and you get a lot of confidence.”

Once the Reds made the decision to promote Lowder to the big leagues, manager David Bell received a text from the clubhouse favorite Barnhart that carried extra weight.

“[Barnhart] just said, ‘You’re getting a special one,'" Bell said.

Reds fans will see for themselves on Friday night.