Zachary Thomas Maxwell was born January 26, 2001, in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up in Dallas, Georgia. At North Paulding High School he ran his fastball up to 98 mph, threw a no-hitter as a senior in 2019, and turned down the Yankees as a 30th-round pick (thank god) to attend Georgia Tech (sorry C. Trent 😂) He averaged nearly a walk per inning in college, lost his rotation spot a month into 2022, then struck out 11 over six innings against top-ranked Tennessee in the NCAA regionals. The Reds were very smart and drafted the 6-foot-6, 275-pound right-hander (nicknamed Big Sugar) in the sixth round of the 2022 draft, 183rd overall. Across 143 minor league games from 2022 to 2025 he posted a 3.86 ERA with 250 strikeouts in 172.1 innings (a strikeout rate north of 13 per nine btw) In 2024 he led all Reds minor leaguers with 53 appearances, going 7-2 with a 3.17 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 54 innings, hitting 102.5 mph on a game-ending strikeout in August. He opened 2025 at Triple-A ...