Ranking the Cincinnati Reds best rookie starters heading into the 2022 season

1. Nick Lodolo, Reds starting pitcher

While many of the Cincinnati faithful get caught up in the awe of Hunter Greene's raw ability, Nick Lodolo is the more polished of the two hurlers. No, you're not going to see Lodolo light up the radar gun as often as Greene, but the former first-round pick was actually more dominant in his time at Double-A Chattanooga.

In 10 starts for the Lookouts last season, the lefty punched out 68 batters over 44 innings. Lodolo's 39.3% strikeout-rate is slightly better than Greene's (37%). Greene also posted a fine 8.6% walk-rate, but Lodolo's 5.2% mark is even better.

None of this is meant to be a jab at Hunter Greene. The right-hander missed a boatload of time due to rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season. Lodolo on the other has three seasons of college baseball under his belt and was viewed as the most major league ready pitcher when the Reds drafted him in 2019.

Lodolo posted really good numbers last season. The 23-year-old went only threw 50.2 innings, but struck out 78 batters and walked only 11. A 13.86 K/9, 1.95 BB/9, and 0.53 HR/9 will play all day at the major league level. If Lodolo's stuff translates to the big leagues, we could be looking a potential Rookie of the Year candidate.

The only thing that slowed Nick Lodolo's progress last season was injury. The southpaw dealt with blisters on his throwing hand and had a shoulder injury later in the year. If Lodolo enters spring training healthy, I believe the California native has a great chance to land on the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day roster.