Minor League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds Top Prospect Turns in Pro Debut to Remember on Opening Day at High-A Level

Chase Burns threw four scoreless innings and faced three other MLB Top 100 prospects.
Jami Leabow|
Cincinnati Reds non-roster invitee Chase Burns throws a pitch, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at the Cincinnati Reds Player Development Complex in Goodyear, Ariz.
Cincinnati Reds non-roster invitee Chase Burns throws a pitch, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, at the Cincinnati Reds Player Development Complex in Goodyear, Ariz. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds' top prospect Chase Burns made his professional debut Friday night for the High-A Dayton Dragons, and he didn't disappoint.

Burns, the No. 1 player in the Reds system and No. 25 in baseball, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, threw four scoreless innings against the West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers) on Opening Day of the Midwest League season. He struck out six, allowed just one infield hit and walked one.

And for trivia lovers, Burns' first strikeout victim was Max Clark, who is the No. 5 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He also got No. 27 prospect Kevin McGonigle to pop out and enticed No. 93 Josue Briceño to ground out.

With Burns out of the game, the Whitecaps scored five runs in the fifth inning en route to a 7-0 win.

The Reds have high expectations for Burns, whom they selected in the first round -- No. 2 overall -- in the 2024 MLB Draft and paid him an MLB-record $9.25 million signing bonus.

He spent his 2024 season at Wake Forest, where he was dominant: a 10-1 record and 2.70 ERA with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year.

A 22-year-old right-hander from Tennessee, Burns spent last summer at the Reds' spring training complex in Arizona, then went to the fall instructional league.

He was a non-roster invitee to spring training this season, and he struck out three batters and walked one in his only appearance in a Cactus League game.

He told MLB.com that spring training was an amazing experience.

“It’s been everything I’ve expected and more just to be around the big league guys," he said. "To be around a guy like Hunter Greene is really cool. But also to be around the younger guys who are my age and making an impact too is really cool.”

He and Greene could wind up in the same rotation soon. MLB Pipeline projects an MLB debut with the Reds sometime this season.

Related MiLB Stories

NO MORE DOLLAR BEER: Tampa Bay Rays affiliate says Inflation is forcing the end of a popular promotion. CLICK HERE:

GOING BATTY FOR BATS: The Chicago White Sox High-A affiliate is turning the torpedo bat craze into a fun promotion. CLICK HERE:

PROMOTION: A Cleveland Guardians affiliate is giving start treatment to an NFL mom who happens to be a friend of Taylor Swift. CLICK HERE:

Published | Modified
Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

Home/NEWS