The Reds drafted Burns out of Wake Forest with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Burns wasn’t the chalk pick by the Reds in the first round last year, but it has proved to be a wise selection as Burns rocketed through the Reds’ farm system.
Burns opened the year in Dayton and made three starts. He then was promoted to Chattanooga, where he posted a 1.29 ERA in eight starts. Then after two starts in Louisville, Burns got the call-up to the big leagues.
In his final minor league start, Burns allowed just one run in seven innings in a win for the Louisville Bats.
“We knew they were swinging a lot, so we said here it is,” Burns said after that game. “We attacked. All pitching is is adjusting to see what they do. They were swinging a lot, so I put the ball in the zone and let them have it.”
While Burns proved that he’s ready to fill big league outs, he also fills an important need for the Reds. They were counting on veteran Wade Miley as the injury replacement for ace Hunter Greene. But then Miley suffered a flexor strain in his pitching arm that has him out indefinitely. Looking at their options to join the rotation, the Reds picked the one with the most talent in Burns.
With a 100 mph fastball, two dynamic breaking balls and an emerging changeup, Burns combines elite stuff with an old-school approach.
“He just doesn’t give up hard contact,” Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson said earlier this month. “He doesn’t give up very many hits. It feels like he’s in the strike zone as much or more than what we thought he was going to be. The stuff is good. The quality of his pitches are good. He has passed every test so far. There’s going to be another one. Hopefully, he passes that too. He’s in a really, really good spot. It’s been fun to see how he performs week-to-week.”
Burns now joins a very talented rotation that includes All-Star candidate Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez and Brady Singer. Greene is working his way back from a groin injury, and Lowder is out for a while after suffering an oblique injury.
TODAY’S GAME
Who: New York Yankees at Cincinnati
When: 7:10 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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