A pair of Reds prospects will receive their first major league calls. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that right-hander Chase Petty will be tabbed to start the second game of tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Cardinals. He’ll go opposite Steven Matz in his major league debut. Meanwhile, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that infielder Tyler Callihan is also coming up.
Cincinnati will not need an active roster spot for Petty, who can serve as the allotted 27th man in the doubleheader, but they will need to formally select him onto the 40-man roster. They already have an opening after waiving Randy Wynne last week. Callihan is on the 40-man, but they’ll need to make an active roster move to accommodate his promotion.
Petty, 22, was Minnesota’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft. He didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the Twins’ farm system. Minnesota shipped him to the Reds the following spring in a one-for-one trade that netted Sonny Gray. It worked out well for both clubs. Gray had a fantastic two-season run in the Twin Cities, while Petty has become one of the better pitching prospects in baseball.
As a high schooler, Petty received plenty of attention for a fastball that ran into the triple digits. He’s not throwing quite as hard in pro ball, but he’s still averaging 95-96 MPH on his four-seam and sinker. Prospect evaluators credit him with a plus slider that serves as his best secondary offering. He rounds out a four-pitch mix with a cutter and changeup that’ll hopefully allow him to handle left-handed hitters multiple times through a lineup.
Baseball America ranked Petty third among Cincinnati prospects and among the back 10 of their overall Top 100 over the offseason. He landed among the sport’s Top 50 prospects at FanGraphs, while ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel had him in the back half of his Top 100. Keith Law of The Athletic had him outside his overall 100 but slotted him among the 10 best minor league talents in the Cincinnati system.
Petty spent most of last season in Double-A, where he turned in a 4.39 earned run average across 127 innings. He earned a late-season promotion to Triple-A Louisville, where he’s spent the first month of the ’25 campaign. Petty has pitched well through five starts. He carries a 3.52 ERA with a plus 27% strikeout rate. That includes six scoreless frames with seven strikeouts in his most recent outing last Wednesday.
Tomorrow’s appearance may simply be a spot start. Players promoted as the 27th man in a doubleheader are usually sent back to the minors the following day. Still, it’s unlikely to be the only time Petty gets the call this season. He’ll remain on the 40-man roster even if he’s returned to Louisville postgame. The Reds wouldn’t have made that move unless they anticipated Petty factoring in as rotation depth throughout the season.
The Reds added Callihan to the 40-man roster last November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. The left-handed hitting infielder has been on optional assignment to Louisville all season. He has raced out to a strong start to the season, batting .303/.410/.528 with four homers and six stolen bases in 24 games. Callihan has walked 16 times in 106 plate appearances, though he’s also punched out on 29 occasions.
Cincinnati’s third-round pick in 2019, Callihan has battled injuries (including a 2021 Tommy John surgery) during his pro career. He’s generally regarded as a bat-first infielder. Inconsistent minor league production had dropped him to 21st among Reds prospects on BA’s offseason list, but the Reds liked him enough to ensure they didn’t lose him in the Rule 5 draft. The hot start at Louisville earns him an opportunity to contribute to an infield facing some injury questions.
They’ve been without Christian Encarnacion-Strand for a couple weeks, while Jeimer Candelario is day-to-day with lower back soreness. Candelario went for an MRI today, according to the MLB.com injury tracker. A trip to the 10-day IL doesn’t seem out of the question. Callihan is primarily a second baseman and has experience at both corner infield spots (and in left field). Candelario had already ceded the starting third base job to Noelvi Marte, but Callihan could replace him as a bench bat.
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Shouldn’t abbot be able to pitch tomorrow, did I miss something?
double header
Right, and they already had the pitchers set for the series. Haven’t heard of any injuries to the scheduled starters. But I haven’t looked real hard.
You get the free roster spot for the double header so I think most teams use it to give their pitchers a little break.
Was either Chase Petty, or Gordon Earnhardt. Junior, Jr.
Surprised it wasn’t Ricky Bobby Junior, proving once again that if you ain’t first, you’re last.