It took just one inning for this Reds prospect to ruin all the momentum he built

Cincinnati Reds prospect Zach Maxwell built up a lot of goodwill over the past month, and was knocking on the door of the major leagues. The hard-throwing right-hander has the makings of a bullpen weapon, and he entered Thursday's minor-league game with an 11-game scoreless streak. But it all came crashing down during his latest outing, and Maxwell's MLB debut will, in all likelihood, be put on hold for the time being.

Heading into spring training, Maxwell was one of the most talked about Reds prospects in Goodyear. The right-hander's triple-digit heater had been lauded by scouts for over a year, and some Reds fans even thought Maxwell would break camp with the big league club.

Maxwell, however, began his 2025 season at Triple-A and had a rough start to the year. His supporters quieted after seeing Maxwell post an 8.03 ERA through his first 14 appearances out of the Louisville Bats bullpen. He walked as many batters (10) as he struck out and looked like a far cry from that back-of-the-bullpen arm many expected when the season began.

Reds prospect Zach Maxwell ruined all the momentum he built

But "Big Sugar", as Maxwell is affectionately known, straightened things out over the last month. From May 7 through June 10, Maxwell put up zeroes across the board. During that 11-game stretch, Maxwell didn't allow a run and struck out 13 of the 44 batters he faced (29.5% strikeout rate) while only walking six. He allowed just five hits and a call-up to the big leagues seemed to be within his grasp.

But Maxwell's performance on Thursday against the Iowa Cubs will not endear him to the Reds' brass. The right-handed hurler came on in relief of fellow top prospect Chase Burns in the top of the sixth inning. Maxwell got Burns out of jam with a strikeout and force out to end the Cubs' threat in the sixth. But Maxwell went back out for the seventh, and that's when things unraveled.

With the Bats and Cubs tied at 2-2, Maxwell allowed back-to-back singles to start the seventh inning. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third, and an intentional walk loaded the bases. Maxwell lost control of a four-seamer in the dirt which allowed a run to score. A two-RBI single then made the score 5-2, and Sam Moll replaced Maxwell on the mound. The Cubs tacked on three more runs that inning and won the game by a final score of 10-2. Maxwell was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on three hits.

Maxwell will need to shake off this latest outing, knowing that he didn't walk a batter and all the hits were singles — two ground balls and one line drive — there's reason to believe that Cincinnati's front office didn't see anything that would make them terribly apprehensive to call up the 24-year-old. That said, Maxwell is not part of the Reds 40-man roster.

At the moment, Luis Mey and Connor Phillips, both of whom are on the 40-man roster, have had an impressive run in Triple-A of late and would likely get the call to join the big league club before Maxwell. With Joe La Sorsa optioned to Triple-A on Thursday, one of those two could could be called up to fill the vacancy if Brent Suter remains on the bereavement list.

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