Minor League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Chase Burns Gearing Up For Much-Anticipated MLB Debut

Chase Burns has just 13 minor league starts under his belt, but the Cincinnati Reds have called upon their 2024 first round pick to take the mound against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Sam Connon|
Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns poses for a portrait during Media Day at the Cincinnati Reds Development Complex.
Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns poses for a portrait during Media Day at the Cincinnati Reds Development Complex. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds rolled out the red carpet for Chase Burns on Monday, introducing their top prospect to the world ahead of his big league debut.

The 22-year-old right-hander has been added to the Reds' active roster and is slated to take the mound against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Considering Burns is ranked as the No. 3 pitcher and No. 11 overall prospect in baseball, the fanfare surrounding his arrival wasn't shocking.

On top of having an official press conference at Great American Ball Park on Monday, Burns continued to soak up the spotlight leading up to his big day.

"What's up, Red Country, it's Chase Burnes here," the righty said in a video posted to social media. "Stoked to be here, can't wait to see you (Tuesday)."

Cincinnati selected Burns with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He was fresh off going 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA, 0.920 WHIP and 17.2 strikeouts per nine innings in his lone season at Wake Forest, which came off the back of two successful campaigns at Tennessee.

Burns didn't make his professional debut until 2025. He climbed from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A in a span of a few months, going 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.773 WHIP and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings across 13 starts.

For comparison, Paul Skenes was 0-0 with a 1.85 ERA, 0.941 WHIP and 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 12 minor league starts before he was called up to the majors.

The Reds are currently 41-38, which puts them 2.0 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. Adding Burns to a rotation that is currently without Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder, Wade Miley and Brandon Williamson could provide the necessary boost to power through the injuries.

During his college days, Burns became known for his explosions of personality coming off the mound. If he can shut down the Yankees on Tuesday, maybe he will get to show off some of his signature celebrations right off the bat.

First pitch from Cincinnati is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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