Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chase Burns is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and he showed the goods Tuesday night. In his MLB debut against the New York Yankees at Great American Ball Park (CIN 4, NY 3 in 11 innings), Burns struck out eight batters in five innings, including each of the first five batters he faced. He’s the first starting pitcher in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to strike out the first five batters he faced in the big leagues.
Here is Burns’ dominant first inning. He struck out Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge on 14 pitches.
At 22 years and 159 days, Burns is the youngest pitcher with eight strikeouts and no walks in his MLB debut since Stephen Strasburg fanned 14 in his debut at 21 years and 323 days in 2010. Also, Burns is the second Reds pitcher with eight walks and no strikeouts in his debut, joining Johnny Cueto.
The first time through the lineup, Burns held the Yankees to 1 for 9 with seven strikeouts. They solved him after that, going 6 for 12 with a homer and a triple (thanks to an ill-advised dive by center fielder TJ Friedl) once the lineup turned over.
All told, Burns finished with three runs allowed in five innings. He struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone, and threw 81 pitches with 12 swings and misses. Burns exited with the Reds down 3-0, though they rallied in the seventh inning to the game, then won on Gavin Lux’s walk-off single in the 11th inning. The offense took the rookie off the hook for the loss.
Burns was the No. 2 overall pick out of Wake Forest in last summer’s amateur draft. He dominated the minors this year, pitching to a 1.77 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 66 innings while climbing three levels. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Burns the fifth best prospect in baseball in his midseason update, and the second-best pitching prospect. Here’s the write-up:
I thought Burns was clearly the best pitcher in last year’s draft, and he’s done nothing yet to convince me otherwise. His arsenal is led by an upper-90s fastball that at times features natural cut, as well as a slider that has generated a 50% whiff rate through his first few Triple-A appearances. Burns doesn’t feature the low slot or the flat plane that’s en vogue these days; he manipulates his head and spine so that he can catapult the ball from a higher slot. There aren’t many starters going with this combination of velocity, release height, and operation, but Burns has certainly made it work for him.
The Reds summoned Burns to replace veteran lefty Wade Miley, who was placed on the injured list with a flexor strain last week. They are also without ace Hunter Greene (groin) and fellow top prospect Rhett Lowder (forearm strain). GM Brad Meador said Burns was called up because, quite simply, he gives the Reds the best chance to win.
“We’re trying to give ourselves every chance to win and be in this, and right now we feel like Chase gives us the best chance, and it’s time to go,” Meador said this past weekend. “… Our guys have fought back and had a good run here, and then losing Hunte and then losing Wade. It might have come a little quicker than we wanted, but I think he’s ready.”
The Reds have won 12 of their last 17 games. They are 42-38 overall and 4 ½ games back of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Cincinnati is two games back of the third wild-card spot.