CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former Virginia pitcher Andrew Abbott was added to Cincinnati Reds taxi squad and will make his MLB debut on Monday (June 5) with a start against the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch at Great American Ball Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on Monday.

Abbott will be the 54th Cavalier ever to play in the big leagues and the 30th that have played for head coach Brian O’Connor. Abbott will be the seventh player from the 2021 MLB Draft Class to make their MLB debut.

 

Abbott is the No. 95 overall MLB prospect and ranked No. 6 in the Reds organization according to MLB Pipeline. Over 10 starts this season for Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville, Abbott is 4-0 with a 2.50 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. In 54 innings, he has walked 17 while he’s struck out an astounding 90 batters.

 

 

The Republican Grove, Va. native fanned 327 batters from 2018-21 for Virginia, only the second pitcher in UVA history to strikeout 300 batters. He was UVA’s frontline starter on the 2021 College World Series team after he led the ACC in innings pitched (106.2), starts (17) and strikeouts (162). He ranked second in the ACC in wins (9), ERA (2.87) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.67). On May 14, 2021 he pitched the first 7.1 innings of the program’s seventh no-hitter where he struck out a career-high 16 batters.