As much as we love the proven veterans and those faces that help shape this league, the youth movement is churning quicker than ever. Just this season alone, the amount of talent that’s been called up is enormous. The Red Sox have their “Big 3”, the Athletics called up Nick Kurtz (4th overall in 2024), and the Royals ripped off the bandaid and brought in Jac Caglianone (6th overall in 2024).

The Brewers were the latest team to bring in a young pitching prospect in Jacob Misiorowski, and now the Cincinnati Reds are doing the same. Welcome to the show Chase Burns.

Burns to Make Debut Tuesday

When you look at the Reds rotation, it is quite loaded. Andrew Abbott is having an All-Star season, and he and Hunter Greene have formed a nice two headed monster at the front of it. Sure, you want to see a bit more out of Brady Singer and while Nick Lodolo and Martinez are fine pieces, Burns is quite the talent and his ascension through the minors is noteworthy.

There is a reason the Reds took him second overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. Burns was an elite pitching talent for Wake Forest and had a great college career. He made quick work through the minors and it felt very Kristian Campbell esque. If you are a Red Sox fan, you know exactly what I am saying.

Burns has a 1.77 ERA across the minors this season. In A+, he only made three starts, had a 20-5 K-BB rate and had a .125 batting average against. Very little base traffic and he made his way right to Double A. In a larger sample size (42 IP), he allowed six earned runs, good for a 1.29 ERA. His batting average against was .177 and his WHIP was 0.71. It’s truly remarkable.

His stint in Triple-A was short, but once again he delivered. A 2.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and a .171 average against. Safe to say, he’s ready.

Burns brings the velocity with his fastball and can hit 100. He also has two very elite breaking balls that can devastate pitchers.

Burns will make his debut against the Yankees, who have seen their offense struggle in the month of June. Chase Burns v Aaron Judge could be quite fun.

The youth movement is awesome and the league has yet another polarizing player to watch. Get ready Cincinnati.