How eye-popping run by Cincinnati Reds' second-team pitching might inform 2025 plans

ST. LOUIS – The only thing more baffling about the Cincinnati Reds than how they lost so many games with so much good pitching the first four months of the season might be how in the world they’re getting so much good pitching right now with their entire starting rotation on the injured list.

Brandon Williamson was part of the answer to that on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals . Rookie Rhett Lowder the night before. Veteran swingman Nick Martinez the night before that.

Whether any or all of them are part of the answer next year when the Reds try this chase-the-playoffs thing again, the guys doing all the fill-in work on the mound these days are injecting eye-popping intrigue into the Reds’ pitching depth projections for 2025.

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"Starting pitching's something to start with, for sure," Reds Manager David Bell said after another stout night for his pitchers in a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. "We feel really good about our starting staff. We had some injuries. It's created some opportunities for young guys and created an opportunity for Brandon to come back off his (shoulder) injury. We've seen how important this year depth can be."

They've seen that this month alone, with top three starters Hunter Greene (sore elbow), Andrew Abbott (shoulder strain) and Nick Lodolo (troublesome middle finger) all landing on the IL in the span of 10 days in the second half of August.

And yet the Reds' unlikely express train of September pitching continued rolling even in a loss, with the Cardinals scoring just one run their first 16 innings of the series until Paul Goldschmidt drove home the Cardinals' second run of Wednesday's game for the winner with a one-out double off reliever Buck Farmer in the bottom of the eighth.

It was only the second run scored since Sunday's sixth inning against Reds pitchers, who have a 2.00 team ERA in 10 games this month.

"They've stepped up," Bell said. "They've been doing it all year really. But we were challenged a little bit more than typical. And they've done nothing but answer that."

Challenged?

The Reds’ top four starters are on the IL (and Opening Day starter Frankie Montas was traded away), and yet the pitching staff strung together 24 consecutive scoreless innings until Nolan Arenado’s  one-out solo home run in the fourth Wednesday night – a first-row shot that appeared to be aided by a fan with an able glove.

That was the Reds' longest such streak since a 28-inning run in 2012. It was the longest road streak since 2000 (25 innings).

“It’s fantastic,” said ace Hunter Greene, whose live batting practice session went well enough Wednesday that if Saturday’s two-inning simulation goes well he could be back from the IL next week at home against Atlanta or Pittsburgh. He’s been on the IL for a month because of a sore elbow.

“To know that myself and Nick (Lodolo) and Graham (Ashcraft) and (Andrew) Abbott (are out), and being able to have the other guys step up, the bullpen especially… it’s very promising. It’s exciting. And it gives us another ounce of motivation moving forward.”

And potentially far more than an ounce of prevention to remedy any illness or injury losses next year.

Consider what the Reds fill-in starters have done lately. The Arenado shot off Williamson gave the Cardinals the first run off a Reds starting pitcher since Fernando Cruz, as a one-inning opener, gave up a two-run homer to the Mets' Mark Vientos on Friday in New York.

Jakob Junis (five), rookie Julian Aguiar (4 2/3), Martinez (seven), Lowder (five) and Williamson (three) went 24 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing a run after that – the longest streak for Reds starters since 1990 (25).

Lowder, the seventh overall pick in last year’s draft, has been sharp in his first three big-league starts after a debut necessitated by the quick succession of injuries.

“He’s looked like a big-leaguer. He’s looked fantastic,” Greene said.

Williamson, who was impressive in a four-month debut last year, missed almost all of this season because of a shoulder injury and setback that looked at one point like it might require surgery.

Brought back from his rehab assignment before he was fully stretched out because of the extreme need for innings on the staff, Williamson has allowed just one run in each of three games pitched since – progressing from 3 1/3 to 4 2/3 to five innings Wednesday night (2.08 ERA).

"I think we're all just trying to finish the year strong," Williamson said.

Greene, Abbott and Lodolo all have the chance to return during the final two weeks of the season.

With them heading up the rotation into next spring, do Williamson and Lowder get the chance to round out the starting five?

Would that give the Reds the luxury of considering Ashcraft for a significant bullpen role when he returns from his elbow strain next season? And where does Aguiar (1-0, 5.06, in five starts) fit?

Touted prospect Chase Petty was in big-league spring training this year and just got promoted to Triple-A Louisville, putting him on deck for a 2025 debut. And No. 2 overall pick Chase Burns is already considered the organization’s top prospect and a candidate for a fast track to the big leagues.

And what about Martinez, who might be the Reds’ most valuable pitcher this season and who is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA in eight starts since becoming a full-fledged rotation piece early last month? He has an opt-out clause in his contract that he says he’s not thinking about yet. Given this year’s performance, it would be shocking if he didn’t opt out, which then makes the question about whether Reds make a $21 million qualifying offer and/or negotiate a multiyear extension to try to keep him.

“He’s been unbelievable for us,” Greene said.

Wherever Martinez might wind up next year, the Reds at least have lots of names to plug into various projection models already for 2025.

"For the rest of this year, thankfully we have that depth," Bell said. "We'll think about next year at that time. But it's a good situation to be in."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How eye-popping run by Cincinnati Reds' second-team pitching might inform 2025 plans