Photo: Redleg Nation Staff
On Saturday evening out in the greater Phoenix area the Peoria Javelinas sent Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder to the mound for his third start of the Arizona Fall League. After missing the entire year with the exception of a few rehab starts – both of which ended with a new injury than the one he was rehabbing from – Lowder didn’t spent much time on the mound in 2025. Cincinnati has him in the fall league in order to get him some innings and work to try and help make up for some of that missed time.
The start of the game didn’t go well for Lowder. He gave up a single to the first hitter he faced and then saw him steal second base. Lowder then hit the next batter on the 6th pitch of the plate appearance. Five pitches later he gave up an RBI single. Three batters, all reached, one scored, and he had thrown 15 pitches. He needed 12 more pitches to get out of the inning, but he got two ground outs and a fly out to stranded the two runners.
In the next inning things went a little better, but it wasn’t exactly smooth. Lowder didn’t give up a hit in the inning but he struggled to put guys away as he needed 19 pitches to record his three outs. His day ended at that point as he completed exactly two innings for his third straight start.
Lowder threw 46 pitches in the game and had 28 strikes. That was the highest number of pitches he has thrown in a start thus far in Arizona. In his first outing he needed just 23 pitches to complete his two innings. Last time out he needed 32 pitches to do the same. In all three of his outings he has given up two hits, and in the last two he’s allowed one earned. Lowder hasn’t walked anyone yet, but has hit one batter and he now has six strikeouts.
Not everything was great news on the day for the Reds and Peoria. The Reds top prospect, Alfredo Duno, started the game behind the plate. He caught the 1st inning, but when it was his time to come to the plate in the top of the 2nd he was pinch hit for. Between the innings he walked to the clubhouse with all of his gear (the clubhouse is not connected to the dugout in this stadium). Nothing was obvious as to when he hurt himself, but if he’s not back in the lineup in a few days I will reach out to see what happened.
About The Author
