There were a few pitchers who put together strong seasons for the Cincinnati Reds farm system in 2025. When all was settled, though, Jose Franco seemed to have put a little distance between himself and the others and is the RedsMinorLeagues.com Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
When the 2025 season began the Reds sent Jose Franco to the Chattanooga Lookouts. His first outing of the season came out of the bullpen where he threw 2.1 shutout innings against Rocket City. A week later he made his first start of the year and threw 4.0 hitless innings against Birmingham. Franco continued to dominate the rest of April, giving up just one earned run in 17.1 total innings while striking out 24 batters.
For as good as April was, the first half of May was a struggle. In the first outing of the month he gave up five earned in 3.0 innings to Knoxville. Two outings later he allowed three runs in 3.1 innings against Birmingham. The 24-year-old turned things around from there. Over his next six outings he would allow just seven earned runs while throwing 31.0 innings (2.03 ERA) and that took him through late June and earned him a promotion up to Triple-A Louisville.
The first start for Jose Franco with the Bats came on June 28th against St. Paul and he gave up two earned runs over 6.0 innings. That was a strong start but things went off the rails over the next month as he pitched in seven games and only threw 16.0 innings while giving up seven home runs and posting an ERA of 6.75.
On August 10th he would take the mound against Toledo for the second time in the series and he threw 3.0 hitless innings and that set the tone for the remaining six weeks of the year. In his final nine outings he would post a 1.84 ERA and strike out 35 batters in 29.1 innings.
Between the two stops for Jose Franco he threw 110.0 innings while making 26 starts and five relief appearances, went 10-4, allowed just 85 hits, walked 54 batters, and he struck out 118 to go along with a 3.11 ERA. He led the farm system with 10 wins, was 4th in innings pitched, 2nd in strikeouts, and had the lowest ERA of any pitcher that made at least 12 starts for the organization in the minor leagues in 2025.
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