Reds prospect Brandon Williamson put on notice with Andrew Abbott's promotion

Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Andrew Abbott is one step closer to The Show. On Monday, the Reds promoted Abbott to Triple-A Louisville.

That's great news for Reds fans, as Abbott had been downright filthy during his time at Double-A Chattanooga. In three starts this season, Abbott had 36 strikeouts in just 15.2 innings of work with a 1.15 ERA and 0.57 WHIP.

But while Abbott has been destroying the competition, fellow Reds prospect Brandon Williamson has officially been put on notice. Williamson has struggled at the beginning of his 2023 campaign and could be leapfrogged by by Abbott if he doesn't get his stuff together.

Reds prospect Brandon Williamson has been put on notice with Andrew Abbott's promotion.

Brandon Williamson came to Cincinnati by way of a trade from the Seattle Mariners prior to the start of the 2022 season. Williamson was the prized prospect pickup from that trade that also netted the Redlegs outfielder Jake Fraley and pitchers Connor Phillips and Justin Dunn.

However, since the trade, Fraley has emerged as a serviceable outfielder, Dunn has become a fixture on the Injured List, Williamson has struggled to throw strikes, and Phillips may be the best player Cincinnati received in return for the duo of Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker.

Since arriving in the Reds organization, Williamson has seen time at both Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville. In those 32 starts, Williamson is 7-9 with a 4.29 ERA. More troubling, however, is Williamson's 13.8-percent walk-rate. In his 18 games at Triple-A, Williamson's strikeout-rate dropped from 24.8-percent to 17.6-percent.

Williamson has the stuff. The tall and lanky southpaw has a four-pitch mix that includes a changeup, curveball, and a cutter. But if he can't throw any of those pitches for strikes, it's going to be a little bit before the left-hander makes his major-league debut.

Brandon Williamson will need to regain his command or the recently promoted Andrew Abbott could quickly become the most likely pitching prospect to join the Cincinnati Reds this season. Levi Stoudt was already given a spot start earlier this season.