Nick Lodolo Bio
Nicholas Frank Lodolo is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander known for his size, swing-and-miss stuff, and bulldog mentality on the mound, he made his MLB debut in 2022 and has developed into a key member of the Reds’ starting rotation. Lodolo was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school before electing to attend Texas Christian University, where he grew into one of the top college arms in the country and became a first-round pick of the Reds.
Born on February 5, 1998, Lodolo has spent his entire professional career within the Cincinnati organization after being selected seventh overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. He wears number 40 for the Reds and is regarded as a foundational piece of the team’s pitching staff, with front-office and coaching staff repeatedly pointing to him as a building block for the club’s competitive window.
Early Life and Background
Nicholas Frank Lodolo was born on February 5, 1998, and grew up in Southern California. He attended Damien High School in La Verne, California, where he played for the school’s baseball team as a pitcher and quickly established himself as one of the most promising young arms in the region. As a senior, he posted an 8–2 win-loss record with a 1.97 earned run average (ERA), striking out 83 batters across 65 innings pitched, numbers that made him a clear candidate to be selected early in the upcoming draft.
Following his senior season, the Pittsburgh Pirates chose Lodolo with the 41st overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. Rather than sign a professional contract, however, he opted to honor his commitment to Texas Christian University (TCU) and play college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs. That decision set the stage for his development into a polished, top-of-the-rotation prospect and ultimately changed the trajectory of his professional career.
Path to Baseball
At TCU, Lodolo wasted little time making an impact. As a freshman in 2017, he appeared in 17 games with 15 starts, going 5–1 with a 4.35 ERA, and earned All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors. In his sophomore year of 2018, he went 7–4 with a 4.32 ERA, striking out 93 batters in 77 innings over 16 starts, and again landed on the All-Big 12 Second Team. Heading into his junior season, Lodolo was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, signaling his status as one of the conference’s premier starters.
His junior year cemented his first-round pedigree. Lodolo went 6–6 with a 2.36 ERA, striking out 131 batters in 103 innings, and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team. Across three collegiate seasons he compiled an 18–11 record with a 3.55 ERA in 258⅔ innings, fanning 296 hitters. Those numbers, paired with his projectable frame and heavy fastball-slider combination, helped push him into the conversation as one of the top arms available in the 2019 draft.
Nick Lodolo Career
Minor League Career (2019–2021)
Lodolo entered the 2019 MLB Draft as one of the most talked-about prospects in the country and was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the seventh overall pick. He signed for $5.43 million and was assigned to the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie Advanced Pioneer League to begin his professional career. After six starts with Billings, he earned a promotion to the Dayton Dragons of the Single-A Midwest League in July. He later reached his innings limit and was shut down for the rest of the year. Across eight combined starts between Billings and Dayton, he went 0–1 with a 2.45 ERA and struck out 30 batters in 18⅓ innings.
Lodolo did not play a minor league game in 2020 after the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned in 2021 with the Chattanooga Lookouts of Double-A South, where he was named the league’s Player of the Month in May after recording a 1.01 ERA, 38 strikeouts, and a 0.83 WHIP over 26⅔ innings. Selected for the All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field that summer, he was later promoted to the Louisville Bats of Triple-A East before a shoulder strain ended his season in late August.
Major League Career (2022–Present)
The Cincinnati Reds selected Lodolo’s contract on April 13, 2022, and he made his MLB debut that day as the starting pitcher against the Cleveland Guardians. He went on to start 19 games as a rookie, finishing the year 4–7 with a 3.66 ERA in 103⅓ innings, and led the majors with 19 hit batsmen. The 2023 season, however, was cut short by injury, as a stress reaction in his left tibia, originally described as an ankle or calf issue, sent him to the 60-day injured list on June 3 and ultimately forced him to miss the remainder of the year.
In 2024, Lodolo made 21 starts and went 9–8 with a 4.76 ERA and 122 strikeouts across 115⅓ innings, though he landed on the injured list four separate times due to a left calf tenosynovitis, a left groin strain, a left finger blister, and a sprained left middle finger. He bounced back with a career-best 2025 campaign, appearing in 29 games (28 starts) and posting a 9–8 record, a 3.33 ERA, and 156 strikeouts over 156⅔ innings. On July 23, 2025, he tossed his first career complete-game shutout, a 5–0 victory over the Washington Nationals, and he finished the year tied for the major league lead in complete games (2) and shutouts (1).
Lodolo was named Cincinnati’s number two starter prior to the 2026 season. A blister on his left middle finger, sustained during his final spring training outing, forced him to open the year on the injured list. He was activated on May 8, 2026, and made his season debut that night at Great American Ball Park against the Houston Astros, allowing four earned runs across 5⅓ innings in a 10–0 Reds defeat. Through MLB statistics available as of June 17, 2026, Lodolo has compiled a 26–24 record with a 4.26 ERA and 488 strikeouts for Cincinnati.
Driving Style and Strengths
Nick Lodolo is a tall, left-handed power pitcher who relies on a heavy four-seam fastball paired with a sharp slider and a changeup to generate swings and misses. He shows some of his best work against left-handed hitters, profiles as a starter who can miss bats deep into outings, and has the repertoire to deliver complete games when his command is sharp.
Notable Events and Milestones
Highlights of Lodolo’s big-league resume include his first career complete-game shutout against the Washington Nationals on July 23, 2025, and his All-Star Futures Game selection in 2021. He was also a first-round draft pick in both 2016 and 2019, making him one of the few pitchers in his draft class to be chosen twice in the first round.
Nick Lodolo Career Wins
Nick Lodolo has notched the bulk of his career victories at the major league level with the Cincinnati Reds, where he has steadily built a winning record as a member of the starting rotation. As of June 17, 2026, he has recorded 26 wins against 24 losses with a 4.26 ERA and 488 strikeouts in his MLB career, numbers that reflect both his durability and his role as a frontline starter for the club.
MLB Highlights
His first full major league season came in 2022, when he won four games for the Reds as a 19-game starter. He added nine wins in both 2024 and 2025, including a standout 2025 campaign in which his 3.33 ERA and 156 strikeouts over 156⅔ innings marked a clear step forward. His first career shutout, a five-inning-complete gem against the Washington Nationals, stands as the signature win of his MLB tenure.
Other Wins and Performances
At TCU, Lodolo went 18–11 over three seasons, and he was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a junior. In the minors, his most decorated stretch came with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2021, when he was named the Double-A South Player of the Month in May.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLB (Cincinnati Reds) | 26 | N/A | N/A |
Nick Lodolo Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public details about Nicholas Frank Lodolo’s parents and immediate family are limited, and verified biographical information centers on his upbringing in Southern California and his development as a pitcher rather than on a multi-generational sports family background.
Personal Life
Lodolo is widely identified as an American professional baseball pitcher based out of Cincinnati with the Reds organization. Confirmed public information about his spouse, children, and marital status is not available at this time.
2025 Season Performance
Lodolo’s 2025 season represented his most complete year in the major leagues. He appeared in a career-high 29 games with 28 starts, finishing 9–8 with a 3.33 ERA and 156 strikeouts across 156⅔ innings, and he was tied for the major league lead in complete games (2) and shutouts (1). The highlight came on July 23, 2025, when he delivered a complete-game shutout against the Washington Nationals in a 5–0 Reds victory.
Durability remained a theme, as Lodolo landed on the injured list once during the season, missing roughly three weeks in August because of a recurring left finger blister. Even with that absence, his workload was his heaviest as a professional, reinforcing his role as a reliable top-of-the-rotation arm for Cincinnati.
His performance across 2025 cemented his standing within the organization and paved the way for the Reds to name him their number two starter entering 2026, a clear signal that the club views him as a cornerstone of its long-term pitching plans.
