Projected Cincinnati Reds rotation with star prospect Rhett Lowder in it

Rejoice, Reds fans! The time has finally come.

The Cincinnati Reds are officially calling up their second highest ranked prospect, former first round pick, Rhett Lowder, to make his big league debut on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lowder has been incredible over his last nine starts, with elevated dominance over his most recent six outings. In those six appearances, Lowder has 34 innings, 18 hits allowed and just two earned runs between Double-A and a start at Triple-A. It's been another level of dominance from the Wake Forest product.

The Reds, thanks to injuries, have found a spot on their big-league roster for him and announced his promotion on Wednesday afternoon. But how will he slide into the Cincinnati starting rotation?

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Projecting the Reds starting rotation following Rhett Lowder's call to the big leagues

Here's what the Reds rotation could look like with Lowder slotting into it now:

The first thing that 95 percent of baseball fans will say when they see this list of starters is: Who are these guys?

I can't blame you, really.

Nick Martinez has seen success as a long relief man with the Reds this year. He's been moved back to the starting rotation as Cincinnati has been crushed with injuries, which I wil get to in a minute.

After Martinez is the aforementioned Lowder, who comes to the big leagues sooner than expected. He's getting this call because of his red hot stretch of outings as well as the Reds desperate need for another starter.

Following Lowder is Carson Spiers, who's had a pretty solid season aside from two outings in which he surrendered eight and nine earned runs. Besides that, Spiers has been a solid fourth or fifth option in a Reds rotation that has been destroyed by injuries.

Jakob Junis follows as a traditional opener. The righty is a starter-turned-reliever that is now back in the starting rotation for the Reds right now. He is likely to see the lineup one or two times in a bullpen game scenario. He was excellent his last time out, going four perfect innings for the Reds.

Last is Julian Aguiar, another top Reds prospect. Aguiar has been excellent as a Red, tossing 10 innings, allowing seven hits, three walks and four earned runs.

Notably missing from this rotation is the trio of Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, who have all looked very solid for the Reds in 2024. Injuries have destroyed this team, leading to a completely untested starting rotation.

To note: Fernando Cruz is set to start the game tonight for the Reds, but I would be very surprised if Cruz makes another start beyond tonight. Going forward, this is the likely five man rotation until health works in the Reds' favor.