Chase Burns pitches well beyond his years

LOUISVILLE — Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Chase Burns started his game on Wednesday exactly how you’d expect. He fired 100 mph fastballs for strikes, blew that pitch by hitters and recorded two early strikeouts as he retired the side in order in the first inning.

Then, the 22-year-old adjusted and looked well beyond his years.

“He established the fastball early in the game,” Louisville Bats catcher Will Banfield said. “Then, we were able to do a lot of cool stuff sequencing wise. It was cool for him to attack the zone early and expand later.”

Burns, one of the top pitching prospects in MLB, allowed just one run on three hits across seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks on Wednesday during his second start in Triple-A.

The No. 2 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft, has already moved up from High-A to Triple-A this season. While the Reds are understandably giving Burns some time to develop and also manage his pitch and innings count for the season, Burns clearly has the stuff to get big league outs right now.

Facing the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in a home game for the Louisville Bats on Wednesday, Burns’ performance looked pretty easy.

“We knew they were swinging a lot, so we said here it is,” Burns said. “We attacked. All pitching is is adjusting to see what they do. They were swinging a lot, so I put the ball in the zone and let them have it.”

It’s easy to forget that this is still Burns’ first year pitching professionally. You only pick up on that when you hear him discuss subtleties like facing hitters with wooden bats instead of metal bats, or how the professional baseball schedule differs from the college baseball schedule.

When Burns is on the mound, there’s polish. There’s also elite stuff, including a 100-plus mph fastball, a devastating slider, a changeup that he’s very comfortable using and a curveball. In his 13 professional starts this year, Burns has a 1.77 ERA.

“He has been very impressive,” Bats manager Pat Kelly said. “He did a great job (today) of utilizing his off-speed stuff and putting them away with some high fastballs. He’s very composed out there. And he has four pitches that work. It’s fun to watch.”

The Railraiders (the Yankees’ Triple-A team) had a lineup full of aggressive left-handed hitters, which impacted Burns’ game plan heading into the day. He used their aggressiveness to his advantage as he kept his pitch count down, throwing just 88 pitches in seven innings. And while he was efficient, he was also striking guys out.

“You put the ball in the zone,” Burns said, “And see what they can do.”

After the game, Pat Kelly pointed to the way Burns ended the sixth inning.

The Raildraiders had a runner on third base with one out, and leadoff hitter Jesus Rodriguez was up at the plate. After Rodriguez got ahead 2-0 in the count, Burns got back in it by landing a slider in the middle of the zone that Rodriguez fouled off. Burns then threw his two best pitches of the game.

He got Rodriguez to lunge at strike two with the type of off-balanced swing that you typically only see in two-strike counts. That pitch by Burns set up the next one, an even sharper slider that was a bit further away from the plate. Rodriguez had an even worse swing to strike out for the second out of the inning. Burns went on to end the frame by getting Jorbit Vivas to pop out to shortstop.

“He threw four pitches for strikes today and put guys away with all of the different pitches as well,” Banfield said. “He’s a pitcher. He’s going to go after guys. He’s not scared. We’re going to get his best on the mound mentally every single day. It’s cool to have a guy like that.”

It was a spectacular final line from Burns, but the thing is that nearly all of his box scores this season have looked like Wednesday’s. The Reds are thrilled by what they’re seeing from him, and Burns has a shot to make his big league debut in 2025.

Burns is still learning the art of being a professional pitcher and what works for him. He’s doing that while he’s pitching at an incredibly high level.

“Coming into pro ball, the biggest thing is your routine,” Burns said. “You’re throwing a lot more. Longer days. You establish the routine, you adjust during the season and it becomes your (foundation).”

He said that developing his changeup has been a good part of this season for him. Now that he’s in Triple-A, more hitters have a shot to handle his fastball. Burns pointed out how the changeup has made a difference in keeping left-handed hitters off of his fastball, and that was a part of his game plan on Wednesday.

Burns just pitched once a week in college, and he’s learning what it’s like to pitch with a shorter turnaround between starts. He’s also working on ways to stay efficient pitch deeper into games like he did on Wednesday.

This stuff takes time. Last year, during Rhett Lowder’s skyrocket ascension up through the farm system, he really struggled in his first handful of starts in Double-A. Lowder later called that a great learning experience that helped him later on in the season.

Burns still hasn’t had any struggles yet. He understands that may happen.

“Of course,” Burns said. “That’s a part of baseball. You’re going to give up runs. You’re going to struggle. You have to have the mentality to bounce back. That’s my mindset.”

Burns ended his start on Wednesday by burying a slider in the dirt and getting the batter to take a silly swing at it. Burns showed some emotion on the mound as he celebrated getting that last out, but the reaction in the dugout was even bigger. Prospect Chase Petty was wearing a Chase Burns jersey-shirt all afternoon, and he hyped Burns up when he got back into the dugout.

The Reds know what they have here in Burns.

“The stuff is electric,” Banfield said. “What he did today, that’s what you want.”