Cincinnati Reds Rookie Joins Special Club in Team History with Great Major League Debut

Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher Andrew Abbott was dealing in his major league debut on Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, joining an elite club in team history.

The Cincinnati Reds, one of the most exciting young teams in baseball, got even more exciting on Monday night.

Left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott joined a very elite club in team history with an exceptional major league debut.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Andrew Abbott is the 2nd Reds pitcher since 1893 (when the mound was moved to its current distance) to go 6+ innings and allow 1 or fewer hits in his MLB debut, joining Johnny Cueto in 2008.

Andrew Abbott is the 2nd Reds pitcher since 1893 (when the mound was moved to its current distance) to go 6+ innings and allow 1 or fewer hits in his MLB debut, joining Johnny Cueto in 2008. pic.twitter.com/zuEVOH2wsU

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2023

Abbott went six innings, allowing just one hit against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds won the game, 2-0, as Abbott walked four and struck out six.

He is the No. 6 overall prospect in the organization and the highest-rated pitcher.

A second-round pick out of Virginia in 2021, here's a portion of his prospect profile from MLB.com:

He made quick work of the High-A Midwest League to kick off his first full season in 2022 and spent most of the year, with a trip to the Futures Game mixed in, with Double-A Chattanooga.

It was clear pretty quickly Abbott wasn’t being challenged enough in Dayton, so the Reds promoted him so he could face a better level of hitters, feeling that the learning experience was worth the struggles the southpaw faced at the level. While his fastball sits mostly in the low 90s, it can play up thanks to deception in his delivery and the cutting action to the pitch, though he needs to trust it and come in on right-handed hitters more frequently. He always has had a plus curve that he manipulates well in terms of velocity and shape, but in 2022, he added a distinct slider with more sweep. It's thrown a tad harder than his curve, which still has good depth, and might be a tick better at this point. His changeup could be a very effective pitch, but he needs to throw it more.

Abbott struggled with his command in Double-A, though he did finish off with three impressively efficient outings in September. He gets high marks for his IQ and competitiveness on the mound, giving confidence he’ll learn from the bumps in the road to keep developing as a future big league starter.

The Reds are now 27-33 on the season while the Brewers are 32-28.