Reds buy High Point left-hander Ben Wereski after dominant outing
Ben Wereski’s latest High Point start was the kind that gets noticed quickly, and the Cincinnati Reds acted on it. Two days after he struck out 11 Charleston Dirty Birds hitters and allowed only two hits in a 5-2 Rockers win at Truist Point, the Reds purchased the left-hander’s contract on Friday, July 3.
The move matched the way Wereski had pitched through the first half. In eight starts for High Point, the 28-year-old from Orchard Park, New York went 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA, and across two seasons with the Rockers he finished 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA, 111 strikeouts and just 29 walks in 88 innings. That strikeout-to-walk profile, paired with a dominant outing against Charleston, made him exactly the kind of Atlantic League arm affiliated clubs tend to chase.
High Point pointed to the July 1 win over Charleston as Wereski’s best start of the season, and it came in a game shaped by both his work on the mound and run support from D.J. Burt, who drove in five runs in the victory. Wereski’s fast rise back into affiliated baseball came after he sharpened his game in independent ball, building on a college path that included three seasons at Columbia before he finished at Rutgers.
Rutgers said Wereski’s 2021 season was especially strong after he did not pitch in 2020 because of the shortened college schedule. That year, he led the Big Ten with a 0.99 WHIP, worked 76 innings, held opponents to a .226 average and posted eight quality starts along with five outings in which he allowed one run or fewer. Rutgers also listed him at 6-2 with a 3.62 ERA in 13 appearances as a fifth-year senior.
For the Rockers, the purchase was another proof point in a system that has turned strong Atlantic League pitching into affiliated opportunity. Wereski became the ninth High Point player to have his contract bought in 2026 and the 58th all-time since the club began in 2019. High Point said eight Rockers have reached the majors, including Huascar Brazoban, Brandon Leibrandt and Ryan Weiss, a list that kept growing because one sharp start in July was enough to move Wereski back into the Reds’ plans.