After starting the season 29-32, the Cincinnati Reds were hoping to turn things around with their ace on the mound. But those hopes took a hit when manager Terry Francona pulled Hunter Greene after five innings due to a groin flare-up. An MRI later confirmed a strained right groin, landing Greene back on the injured list. In response, the Reds brought back veteran Wade Miley, who previously spent two seasons with the team. His return hasn’t gone smoothly—he allowed four earned runs in just two innings during his lone outing. As for the Reds’ top pitching prospects, Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns lead the way, but Lowder recently suffered a significant oblique injury during a rehab start, further complicating the team’s pitching outlook.
Reds Prospect Chase Burns’ Baseball Journey
After losing his spot in the starting rotation at his hometown school, the University of Tennessee, Chase Burns transferred to Wake Forest for the 2024 season—and thrived. In 16 starts, he compiled a dominant 10-1 record with a 2.70 ERA over 100 innings, racking up a school-record 191 strikeouts while issuing just 30 walks and surrendering only 62 hits. Burns features a high-90s fastball, an upper-80s slider with a 60% whiff rate, and occasionally mixes in a curveball and changeup. Despite his impressive velocity, his fastball has been a concern; it tends to straighten out, making it more hittable. In 2024, 10 of the 14 home runs he allowed came off that pitch. Still, his overall performance was enough for the Cincinnati Reds to select him with the second overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
2025 So Far for Burns
Chase Burns began his professional career with the High-A Dayton Dragons, where he made three starts and posted a 3.09 ERA over 11 2/3 innings. In that span, he struck out 20 batters while allowing just five hits, earning a quick promotion to Double-A. Now with the Chattanooga Lookouts, Burns has continued to impress, going 6-1 over eight starts and 42 innings. He boasts a stellar 1.29 ERA, a 0.714 WHIP, and a dominant 55-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Opposing hitters are batting just .177 against him, with only 26 hits and three home runs surrendered. If the Reds choose to fast-track his development, he could be promoted around the All-Star break, but a more likely path would see him move up to Triple-A soon, with a potential MLB debut coming later in the season. Regardless of the timeline, Burns has shown the stuff and poise to thrive in the big leagues and looks poised to join Hunter Greene as one of the Reds’ future frontline starters.
