The Cincinnati Reds have landed two prospects in the just updated Baseball Prospectus Top 50 Prospects list. Left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo and right-handed pitcher Hunter Greene were both present on the list and inside the top 30. You will need a Baseball Prospectus subscription to see the list, but if you have one, here’s the link.
For Nick Lodolo, he comes in rated as the 22nd best prospect in all of baseball. It’s a big jump for the lefty. He entered the year rated as the 57th prospect in the rankings from Baseball Prospectus. With limited professional experience entering the season, the jump to Double-A couldn’t have gone much better from a statistical standpoint. Lodolo has allowed three earned runs in 32.0 innings over seven starts. That’s a 0.84 ERA if you aren’t a human calculator. He’s allowed just 19 hits and walked just six batters while not allowing a home run and striking out 46 of the 122 hitters he has faced.
The lone problem he’s run into with Chattanooga is keeping a blister off of his pitching hand. He’s made just two starts in the last six weeks, though he did return this week and is scheduled to pitch on Sunday in the Futures Game in Colorado.
Hunter Greene made an even bigger jump up the list than Nick Lodolo did. Greene was unranked by Baseball Prospectus when the season began. He’s now ranked as the 29th best prospect in the game on this list. Greene began the year, along with Lodolo, in Double-A with the Lookouts. He was dominant there, making seven starts and posting a 1.98 ERA in 41.0 innings while walking 14 and striking out 60 batters.
That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Louisville. Things have been inconsistent with the Bats so far. Overall he’s allowed 12 earned runs in 17.1 innings on 16 hits, four home runs (all in his first start in a shoebox of a ballpark with the wind blowing out), 10 walks, and 23 strikeouts. At times he’s been dominant, but then would run into an inning when the proverbial wheels would come off. Just 21-years-old, he’s yet to face off against a hitter that’s younger than he is this season. There were always likely going to be a bump in the road along the way. Greene is finding them every so often so far in Triple-A as one of the youngest players in the league. But he’s been impressive overall in his first in-season games since July of 2018 even with a hiccup or two along the way.