Cincinnati Reds sign 1st round draft pick Rhett Lowder

When the Cincinnati Reds used the #7 overall pick in last week’s MLB Draft on Wake Forest right-hander Rhett Lowder, the presumption was that he was both polished and a player who, in theory, would move quickly towards the majors.

Moving quickly appears to be his thing already, as Lowder officially became the first Top 10 pick from this year’s draft to sign. Charlie Goldsmith of The Enquirer relayed the news following the Reds 1-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, noting that the deal came in at $5.7 million.

That Lowder signed is news, yes, but the actual dollar amount here is perhaps more newsworthy. The #7 pick came with a slot value of some $6.28 million, so the Reds have saved some precious coin in their overall bonus pool with this deal to throw at some of the harder to sign players they selected in later rounds, too.

Next up is watching just how aggressive the Reds will be with their latest prized prospect seeing as he just threw over 120 IP for the Demon Deacons and pitched deep into the college postseason. Will they shut him down for a time and ramp him up slowly as the minor league seasons end? Or, will they keep him active on limited innings to see how much development they can squeeze in to the remainder of the 2023 season?

We’ll get to see either way. Welcome to the fold, Rhett!