Reds recall Chase Petty, prospect flashes 100 mph and sharper command

The Reds turned to Chase Petty for Monday night’s opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field because Brandon Williamson landed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder fatigue, and the 23-year-old right-hander answered with the clearest sign yet that Louisville had tightened the rough edges on his arm. Petty reached 100 mph, worked 5.2 innings and allowed four hits and three earned runs, a line that was steadier than his first taste of the majors in 2025.

That was the point of the call-up. Petty had just thrown 62 pitches over 2 1/3 scoreless innings at Omaha, and Terry Francona said the club wanted him on his regular turn. “This is his regular turn,” Francona said, explaining that Cincinnati had pulled him early in Triple-A to mimic four days of rest. The Reds were not just filling a vacancy; they were trying to carry over the rhythm Petty had built in Louisville and test whether the improvements would hold against a division lineup.

Before the promotion, Petty was 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Louisville in 2026, and the production fit the scouting profile the Reds have been trying to refine since acquiring him from the Twins in the Sonny Gray trade. Drafted 26th overall in 2021 out of Camden, New Jersey, Petty arrived in the system as a power arm with loud velocity and more questions about consistency. MLB scouting grades have long pegged his fastball and slider at 60, his changeup at 50 and his control at 50, a mix that left him with obvious swing-and-miss tools but unfinished command.

Louisville has been the proving ground for the next version of Petty. The fastball still jumps, and the 100 mph radar reading will grab attention, but the bigger development checkpoints have been pitch trust and strike throwing. That mattered because his 2025 big-league exposure went badly, with a 0-3 record and a 19.50 ERA in three games, including a rough debut against the Cardinals. This time, the outing was not clean, but it was far more functional: Petty missed bats only once, yet he limited the damage enough to show he is no longer just a thrower surviving on velocity.

For Cincinnati, that makes Petty more than a spot starter. It suggests a young starter whose Louisville work on command and the changeup is beginning to translate to the majors, even against a Cubs lineup that forced him to labor for every out.