One of the more surprising rookies leading the charge for one of the MLB’s hotter teams is lefty Andrew Abbott.
After making his Major League debut on June 5, SP Andrew Abbott is slowly turning himself into an ace-caliber starter. In his first six career starts, he is maintaining a 4-0 record with a 1.21 ERA. What’s even more impressive is that ERA is a sign of only allowing 5 earned runs in 37.1 innings of work. After a clunker Friday night, his ERA only went up to 2.38
He also carries a very noteworthy low WHIP of 1.032. That means he allows just over a runner per inning to reach via a walk or hit.
Abbott is certainly putting himself in a good spot for the NL Rookie of the Year. Not only that, but his performance is a major reason why the Cincinnati Reds are one of the hotter teams in the league.
Abbott is also leaving his mark in franchise record books. Here’s some further detail on the hot success for one of the Reds’ top rookies.
Andrew Abbott: From Unheralded to Record-Breaker
In a recent start against the San Diego Padres, the University of Virginia product rang up a career-high 12 strikeouts. And, as CBS 19 Charlottesville notes, Abbott is the first pitcher since 1900 to register at least 40 K’s while allowing five or fewer runs in his first six starts.
Abbott’s rise is quite surprising this season, as he wasn’t even mentioned in the pre-season guide for Cincinnati. But now, he is making quite a name for himself. In his first career start, he joined SP Johnny Cueto from 2008 as the only Reds pitchers to record 6+ shutout innings and no more than one hit surrendered. Not only that, but he is the only left-hander in the modern era to accomplish the feat.
Abbott’s Beginnings
The Reds took Abbott in the second round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft. After beginning college play as a reliever, he emerged as a premier starter his senior year at Virginia. It is rare for seniors to get drafted as high as the second round but posting a 2.87 ERA in the ACC will garner attention.
After briefs stops in rookie ball and low-A to close 2021, Abbott began his 2022 season at the high-A level with the Dayton Dragons. In five appearances, the lefty crafted a masterful 27 innings to the tune of a 0.67 ERA. The result was an immediate jump to AA and the Chattanooga Lookouts.
After some struggles there in 2022, Abbott turned things around nicely this year. In three starts, he boasted only a 5.4% walk rate and a 64.3% strikeout rate across 15.2 innings. Those numbers led to an immediate jump to the AAA Louisville Bats. Despite a few hiccups, a 34.8% strikeout rate in 38.1 innings gave him a Welcome to the Show moment. He proved that his Southern League success was no fluke.
Andrew Abbott and The Reds Instant Success
Once Abbott got called up, the Reds went on an instant tear. At the time, Cincinnati was third in the NL Central (26-33) and six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Since then, the Reds have won 22 out of their last 29. Now, they sit one game ahead of Milwaukee for the division lead.
In his first three career starts, Abbott pitched a total of 17.2 scoreless innings. His manager, David Bell, is giving him quite the high remarks. “He has already shown who he was. To go that deep into the game is an incredible start to his career,” Bell noted to MLB.com after Abbott’s start against San Diego Sunday.
Abbott’s Remarks on His Success
The young gun is also happy with what the team is contributing to his work. “I think it’s all the hard work we’ve put in. We’ve all gotten here. I kept telling myself, ‘Getting here is the dream, but staying here is the lifestyle you want.’ You want to go in and do your hard work every day and just put your head down and go.”
He’s happy with how he can use his mix of pitches to fool opposing hitters. “When I have four [pitches] that were all in the strike zone, it kind of gives them a 25 percent chance, if they’re guessing, to get it correct,” he noted.
His teammates are also a big fan of what he does. As C Luke Maile describes, “He’s pitching like he’s been here a long time. Obviously, he’s really good, but it’s the power of being able to throw four pitches in the zone when you want to. That’s what probably what stood out to me.”
Final Thoughts on Andrew Abbott Early Success
To say that Andrew Abbott has been a pleasant surprise to start his career is an understatement. Not only is he re-writing the history books for the Cincinnati Reds, but he is proving to be an elite candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. Sure, he might be only up for a month, but Abbott is already showing flashes of being a premier lefty starter for years to come. He may very well be the next great thing to come in the Queen City.
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Nate Powalie is a contributor for Back Sports Page. A 2022 graduate of Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio), Nate has five years of sports writing experience, and has gotten the chance to call sporting events for radio and live stream. Nate also works as a bar trivia host and can be found on Twitter (@PNate22) and Facebook (Nate Powalie).
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