Chase Petty just gave Reds fans real hope in Spring Breakout performance

Chase Petty's 2025 campaign is undoubtedly one he'd like to forget. Petty was one of the Cincinnati Reds' top prospects heading into the season, but his performance — both in the major and minor leagues — left fans scratching their heads. But his showing during the MLB's Spring Breakout suggests that things are beginning to click for the 22-year-old.

Petty started the Reds' Spring Breakout game against the San Francisco Giants' prospects on Thursday night and tossed a one-hitter through four innings. The hard-throwing right-hander racked up six punch outs, didn't walk a single batter, and even dialed it up to 102 mph on the radar gun during the bottom of the second inning.

Petty was an early-exit from Major League camp this spring. While most fans assumed that he had no shot to make the Reds Opening Day roster, Cincinnati is going to need him at some point this season. Though he didn't face off against Major League competition on Thursday night, you can't ignore the results.

Reds prospect Chase Petty looks ready to put his 2025 struggles behind him

Petty came to Cincinnati in 2022. The Reds shipped Sonny Gray to the Minnesota Twins, and in return, received the former first-round pick. Petty came into the Reds organization as a high-octane hurler, but over the course of his Minor League career, he began to learn how to command and control his pitches,

That's one of the reasons why his struggles last season were so surprising. From 2022-2024, Petty appeared in 66 Minor League games for the Reds, struck out 292 batters over 303 innings and posted a 3.41 ERA. He owned a 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate, and looked like one of the rising stars in the Reds farm system.

But Petty collapsed in 2025. His first five outings in the minors were enough to receive a call-up to the big leagues, but he failed miserably during his debut and was sent back down to Triple-A. He was called up twice more throughout the season, but spent most of the year in the minors.

Before his call-up, Petty was 0-2 with a 3.52 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 23 innings pitched. After his MLB debut, however, he went 6-11 and posted a 7.13 ERA over 89⅔ innings with just 75 punch outs.

The Reds are set to employ a six-man starting rotation at the outset of the 2026 season, and one could argue that Petty is the next in line should one of the starters stumble or land on the IL. Fans are hoping that his performance during the Reds' Spring Breakout is a sign of things to come.