Cincinnati Reds Roster Questions: What About Rhett Lowder?

Lowder burst on to the scene for the Reds in 2024.

Sep 10, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (81) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Reds have made a couple of moves to shore up the strength of their starting rotation this offseason.

The moves carry with them a question: what about Rhett Lowder?

First, we don’t know much about Lowder as a MLB pitcher. He made six starts. That is the teeniest of sample sizes. It is just as easy to point out a flaw in his game as it is to point out a strength, which means we don’t know what we don’t know about Lowder.

It is also true that he accumulated more WAR, according to Baseball-Reference, than Nick Lodolo, or Spencer Steer, or Jonathan India last year, despite only pitching in six games. WAR is an accumulative stat, so the more you play well, the more WAR you get. It is telling that Lowder earned more WAR than those three players who all played a lot more than he did.

Assuming all pitchers make it through spring training healthy (and that’s rarely ever the case), Lowder is on the outside looking at the Opening Day rotation. He will pitch plenty this year as the Reds have needed more than five starters in every year besides 2012. 

He has shown flashes of talent (see his ERA) and flashes of concern (see his walk rate). Lowder will be able to hone in the skills necessary to be a reliable starting pitcher and he will be waiting to seize the opportunity when it presents itself in 2025.

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