Brandon Williamson hints that Reds rotation battle might produce something special

There are many things that make spring training great. Getting a chance to see top prospects in action is always fun. Seeing who came into camp with some new batting stance or pitch or other such adjustment is fascinating. But the most intriguing aspect are the roster battles, and this year the Cincinnati Reds have a doozy.

The Reds' rotation will be among the best, if not the best, in baseball. Hunter Greene sounds like a man on a mission after a subpar outing in the NL Wild Card Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers blemished his otherwise stellar 2025 campaign. Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, and Brady Singer will provide him more than enough support.

Who takes the fifth starter spot is the big question, and the competition is wide and deep. Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, Julian Aguiar, and Chase Petty will all be vying for the prize, and there can only be one winner.

Terry Francona might have named the front-runner in Burns, and the 23-year-old's electric right arm certainly brings plenty of excitement. With that said, he's not the only prized young arm in the race. The sheer collection of talent might make this the best battle in the entire league, at least that's what Brandon Williamson thinks.

Brandon Williamson claims the Reds' fifth starter battle will be the most exciting 2026 spring training showdown in the MLB

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that a lot of these young arms are extra hungry as they're coming off injury. Williamson and Aguiar might be the forgotten men because, along with Lowder, they've been out of the spotlight as they've recovered from injury. But that doesn't mean the talent isn't there.

"I think the competition for that spot is one of the best in spring training. I don't think that's just the Reds, I think that's across baseball," Williamson said.

"The way that we've come to spring training and shown that we all want it, that we're all hungry for it, it's awesome. Whoever earns that spot will be truly ready for it because we're competing right now. This is as much of a late-September type start for us in spring training as it can possibly be. So, it's going to be fun because we're all ready. It's hard to say who is going to win, it's just everybody has shown up well," he added.

He'd go on to say that they're all extremely talented, and he's certainly not wrong. There's the potential that whoever wins could prove to be just as good as the top four in the rotation soon. In fact, multiple of these guys could end up on that path.

Cincinnati is certainly blessed in the pitching department, and they'll enjoy a deep bench from the losing contingent should any of the final top-five starters go down. For now, though, sit back and enjoy the fireworks, because this is going to be really fun to watch.