Reds agree to terms with 2023 first-round pick

The Reds have agreed to terms with first-round pick Rhett Lowder, tweets Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He’ll receive a $5.7M bonus that comes in below the $6.28M slot value of the seventh overall selection.

Lowder becomes the first top ten pick of the class to agree to terms. The Wake Forest right-hander appeared among the back half of the top 10 on pre-draft rankings from MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law and Baseball America. Evaluators credit him with a plus changeup, solid breaking ball and low-mid 90s velocity on a sinking fastball.

The 6-foot-2 hurler was the ACC’s pitcher of the year in each of his final two seasons for the Demon Deacons. He posted a 1.87 ERA over 120 1/3 innings as a junior. Lowder fanned 30.4% of opponents against just a 5.1% walk percentage.

Cincinnati used their first two choices on college pitchers, selecting LSU’s Ty Floyd with their Competitive Balance Round A selection. Second-rounder Sammy Stafura and fourth-round pick Cole Shoenwetter both appeared higher on most pre-draft rankings than their actual selection placements would suggest. Cincinnati could reallocate some of their savings on Lowder to over-slot deals for those prep players.