Rhett Lowder Has Looked Like a Different Pitcher Over His Last Four Starts

Good to see!

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder (25) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Athletics at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 The game was tied 1-1 after three innings. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Reds drafted Rhett Lowder with the No. 7 overall pick in 2023 out of Wake Forest University.

He shot up the minor leagues and looked impressive over the final month of the season with the Reds in 2024.

However, 2025 was a lost season for Lowder, as he missed the entire year due to two separate injuries. He got off to a rough start this season, struggling enough that the Reds eventually moved him to the bullpen. But since returning to the rotation, Lowder has started to turn things around. Over his last four starts, he's looked much more like the pitcher the Reds thought they were getting when they drafted him.

In those four starts, Lowder has an ERA of 3.22 and is walking only two batters per nine innings. He's given up just 17 hits in his last 22 1/3 innings. Lowder said going to the bullpen helped him gain a different perspective.

“My main goal (in the bullpen) was to keep the score where it was, but also for us to not use another pitcher,” Lowder told Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard. “You learn a lot about the bullpen and what they go through when you’re down there. It’s a long season. Guys get used. Back in the rotation, I want to provide as much as I can. You can win a game not on the same day. You can save the bullpen. Even sometimes as a starter, you give up a couple runs early but you’ve got to provide as much length as you can so you can help the bullpen the next day.”

The 24-year-old is never going to be a pitcher who blows hitters away with overpowering stuff. Instead, he relies on a five-pitch mix, the ability to throw any pitch in any count and consistently locating around the edges of the strike zone.

“I’m throwing it pretty good,” Lowder said. “I’ve had to flip my mindset. It’s been up and down. I’ve had some good starts and some really bad ones. When you’re not really helping the team win, you want to try to be perfect every time you go out there. I had to be like, ‘You’re not going to climb out of the hole you dug yourself in early by being perfect and putting more pressure on yourself.’”

The Reds are 3-1 in Lowder's last four starts. If he can continue to build momentum off these four starts, the Reds should have a mainstay in the rotation for years to come.