The Cincinnati Reds assigned 1st round pick Rhett Lowder to High-A Dayton. But before you get too excited about it, pump the brakes. Lowder was assigned to the development list with the Dragons. That means that he will practice with the team and can travel with the team, but he’s not eligible to play in games while on the development list. I’ve been told not to expect him to pitch in games this season.
That shouldn’t come as a big surprise given just how long of a layoff he has had since his college season came to an end and the fact that he had a big workload in his junior campaign this year. At Wake Forest in 2023 he went 15-0 in 19 starts while posting a 1.87 ERA. He threw 120.1 innings with 143 strikeouts and 24 walks. That performance, along with his stuff, led to Cincinnati selecting him 7th overall in the 2023 draft. But it does appear that we’re all going to have to wait to see him pitch again until 2024.
Jose Barrero’s big night
After a slow start in Louisville after being optioned to Triple-A (he went 5-42 in his first 10 games with the Bats), Jose Barrero has been hitting well. In the 42 games since that initial slow start, Barrero is hitting .325/.381/.675 with 10 doubles, 4 triples, and 12 home runs. Two of those home runs and one of those doubles came last night against Toledo.
While Barrero has been hitting well and crushing the ball – he’s still in need of tightening up his swing zone. Since July 1st he’s had 9 walks to go with 56 strikeouts in 180 plate appearances. That’s both a very low walk rate and a high strikeout rate. When he’s making contact, he’s making sure that it counts, but there’s still some work to do.
Late season movement and promotions
In the last few days there’s been plenty of movement on the farm.
- Jacob Hurtubise to Louisville
- Miguel Hernandez to Louisville
- Tyler Callihan to Chattanooga
- Hector Rodriguez to Dayton
- Jackson Miller to Daytona
- Jack Moss to Daytona
Jacob Hurtubise had a nice return for Louisville (he was there earlier this year for a handful of days), picking up two more hits for the Bats last night. Between his time with Louisville (8 games) and Chattanooga (83 games), Hurtubise is now hitting .318/.463/.498 with 35 steals, 8 doubles, 10 triples, and 6 home runs. He’s also walked more than he’s struck out – 52 walks, 51 strikeouts in 335 plate appearances.
After missing nearly three full years, Jackson Miller returned to the field a little more than a week ago. The 2020 2nd round pick had played in just three games – all in 2021 – before he stepped on the field in Arizona on August 14th. Miller went 0-3 that night. In the five games that followed he picked up a hit in each game, including a double and a triple. He’s gone 8-17 so far this year and with the Arizona Complex League season now over, he’ll get to keep playing with a move to Daytona. The Tortugas have 16 games remaining in the year.