Cincinnati Reds Prospect Earns Player of the Week After Dominant Debut

He signed with the Reds on July 3.

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Another Cincinnati Reds prospect has won Player of the Week. This time it is Double-A pitcher Ben Wereski from the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Wereski Wins Player of the Week in Season Debut

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The 28-year-old made his season and Reds' organizational debut on July 9. He pitched six no-hit innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. He originally signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2022 after going undrafted out of college. After being released in 2024, Wereski pitched in the Atlantic League in independent ball over the last two seasons. In 2025, he went 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. This season, he was 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA and was striking out nearly 13 batters per nine and walking less than three per nine. 

Wereski pitched for Columbia University from 2017 through 2019 before transferring to Rutgers in 2021; there was no season in 2020 due to COVID-19. In his final college season at Rutgers, he went 6-2 with a 3.67 ERA in 13 games started. He struck out 6 1/2 per nine and had a 0.99 WHIP.

The Reds Signed Wereski on July 3 From The High Point Rockers

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In his final start with High Point, Wereski struck out 11 batters with just two hits allowed in a 5-2 win. He was 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA and had 111 strikeouts and 29 walks in 88 innings pitched.

He becomes the ninth player from the Rockers to have their contract selected by a Major League organization and the 58th team member to sign all-time since their formation in 2019. Reds pitcher Ben Leibrandt is one of three players to play in the Major Leagues this season. Leibrandt pitched for the Reds on June 1 against the Kansas City Royals.

The Reds Went College Heavy in 2026's Draft

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This year's draft was more atypical for the Reds compared to most years. All but one of their first 11 picks were drafted out of college. Shortstop Dylan Bowen was the only high school player drafted in the first 10 rounds. He is a little older than most high school players. He is already 19 1/2 years old and was committed to play at Oklahoma State University next season. Bowen went to high school at Hanover Central High School in Indiana, located about 44 miles outside of Chicago. 

“We’re confident we’ll be able to sign him," Joe Katuska told Mark Sheldon. "Very athletic kid, up the middle player. I watched him all summer on the showcase circuit and he actually played for our scout team in the fall. He’s a kid that we know really well.”

The Reds' number-one pick was Justin LeBron out of Alabama. Eric Becker played at Virginia, Mulivai Levu played at UCLA, Tyner Hord played at Nebraska, Ethan Norby played at East Carolina, Duncan Marsten played at Wake Forest, Sherman Johnson played at North Carolina State, Brady Neal played with LeBron at Alabama, Damian Ruiz played at Arkansas and Binghamton.

There have been proposals to eliminate high school players from the draft in recent Collective Bargaining Agreement talks. In an article by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan, players could be required to be two years post-graduation to be eligible for the draft. The 2026 draft could be the Reds preparing for that possibility. For context, the Reds drafted Steele Hall with their first pick in the 2025 draft out of high school and took three high school players in the first 10 picks.