Reds' 23-Year-Old Flamethrower on Verge of Becoming Superstar

The Cincinnati Reds have generated a lot of buzz this spring. They have quite an exciting group of young players to roll forward with, including superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz.

The Reds also have one of the league's best pitchers in Hunter Greene. Pair that with the late addition of Eugenio Suárez, who's always been beloved in Cincinnati, and the city is buzzing.

But this doesn't even mention the most electrifying pitcher in Cincinnati: Right hander Chase Burns.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently suggested Burns would be the Reds' breakout pitcher of the year this season. It may sound obvious, but it's true. Burns certainly has a high ceiling.

Chase Burns Has Cy Young Potential

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) watches Hunter Greene throw a bullpen session at the Cincinnati Reds player development complex in Goodyear, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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"Prediction: This will be the last time Burns enters spring training without an iron-clad place in the starting rotation," Reuter wrote. "The electric right-hander dealt with some ups and downs in his debut, but his 67 strikeouts in 43.1 innings speak to the quality of his stuff, and he has nothing left to prove in the minors after steamrolling his way to the majors a year ago. The only thing standing in his way is Rhett Lowder, who has impact upside himself in the battle for the No. 5 starter job, but Burns is a legitimate ace in the making."

Burns is coming off a very unlucky season last year, yet his numbers aren't bad in the slightest. He posted a 4.57 ERA across eight starts and 13 games.Still, he had a 101 ERA+, which means his ERA was above league average. This isn't what the Reds wanted to see out of him, but it's a short sample size.

Burns' FIP is nearly two full runs lower than his ERA. According to Baseball Savant, Burns' xERA was 3.48, a full run below his actual ERA. Expected stats can help tell the full picture. Burns didn't give up many hard hit balls, but a lot of the mishits fell down for base hits. History tells us Burns will see improvements to the mean at a minimum.

But the young righty has focused on developing more pitches over the offseason. While he features a triple digit fastball and one of the best sliders in the game, the righty focused on improving his changeup and adding a curveball. Last season, he only threw 43 changeups and 13 curveballs, accounting for 7.3 percent of his pitches thrown.

Adding these two pitches will make him even harder to square up. It wouldn't be shocking to see the righty put together a sub-3.50 ERA season this year. He's that talented.