Rhett Lowder’s rise through the ranks of professional baseball has gone up by leaps and bounds this season, his first full season as a pro.

He started in the minor leagues, but as of Friday he will be a Cincinnati Reds pitcher.

According to Shelby Dermer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Lowder will make his Major League Baseball debut Friday in the second game of a doubleheader versus the Milwaukee Brewers.

The former North Stanly Comet standout pitcher finished a strong college career at Wake Forest before being drafted seventh overall in the 2023 MLB Draft by Cincinnati.

Lowder started this season in High-A Ball with the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League. He was 2-0 in five starts with the Dragons with a 2.49 earned-run average with 29 strikeouts to six walks. Opponents were batting just .191 against him.

On May 8, he was promoted to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the AA Southern League. He made 16 starts for the Lookouts, posting a 4-4 record with a 4.31 ERA. In his 16 starts in AA ball, Lowder pitched 77.1 innings with 18 walks and 77 strikeouts.

Included in his time with the Lookouts was a seven-inning, complete game win Aug. 14 versus the Rocket City Trash Pandas. In the win, Lowder allowed one earned run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.

On Aug. 20, Lowder was promoted to just one step below the major leagues when he moved up to AAA ball with the Louisville Bats of the International League.

He got his first start at the AAA level last Thursday against the Gwinnett Stripers. Lowder pitched six scoreless innings for the Bats, allowing three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Louisville lost in 10 innings to the Stripers 7-2.

According to MLB Pipeline prospect rankings, Lowder is now the No. 2 prospect for the team behind this year’s No. 1 draft pick, right-handed pitcher Chris Burns, who is currently in rookie ball at the Arizona Complex League.