Could South Jersey HS Grad Help Reds Pitching Staff This Season?

When the Cincinnati Reds Pitchers and Catchers report to the Arizona Cactus League on February 14th, one of the Non-Roster Invitees for Spring Training is a South Jersey High School Graduate.

A First Round Pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Mainland Regional High School Graduate Chase Petty has taken an unusual road to get his first chance to show a Major League Baseball team what he can do at the Big League level.  What makes Petty's journey different is that he was traded less than a year after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins traded Chase Petty to the Cincinnati Reds for All-Star Starting Pitcher Sonny Gray and Pitching Prospect Francis Peguero in March 2022.  For some people, it may be flattering that a Baseball team traded two players to get you into their organization. But that trade may have changed the trajectory of the 20-year-old Pitcher from South Jersey.

Petty had to prove himself the last two years with an organization that did not draft him.  After sustaining an Elbow Injury in the Spring of 2023, the Reds Prospect had a good year with 18 Combined Starts between Minor League Stops at Dayton and Chattanooga posting a 1.72 ERA.

Allowing just 63 Hits in 68 Innings Pitched, Chase Petty earned the opportunity to join the Cincinnati Reds at 2024 Spring Training as a Non-Roster Invitee. The Mainland Regional High School Graduate was the sixth-ranked Reds Prospect last season by MLB Pipeline and he is in the Top 100 MLB Prospects for the 2024 season.

Petty has an outside chance of making the Reds' Opening Day Roster for the 2024 MLB season because the Pitching Staff was a major weakness for Cincinnati last season. There are four pitchers on the Reds' 40-man roster competing for two spots in the Reds' Starting Rotation. Petty has the opportunity to impress the Reds and even if he doesn't start the season in the Major Leagues, he could be on their shortlist of who gets called up from the Minor Leagues during the season.