To the surprise of many, the Cincinnati Reds are making a playoff push this season. They got a big lift on Saturday with the news that Chase Burns will be called up to make his first MLB start on Tuesday.
At 22 years old, the No. 2 pick of the 2024 draft needed very little time to make it to the big leagues. This season, he had 13 starts across three minor league levels, pitching to a 1.77 ERA across 66 innings. Burns struck out 89 batters with just 13 walks and a 0.77 WHIP. It’s safe to say he earned his call-up.
If he can stay hot, it could be a shot in the arm for this Cincinnati squad. At +6000, Burns remains a long shot to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, but stranger things have happened. The favorite, Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski, just got called up a week ago.
It’s unclear precisely who Burns will replace in Cincinnati’s rotation. Before the news broke, Nick Martinez was scheduled to start Tuesday against the New York Yankees. Martinez, 34, has the worst ERA of Cincinnati’s starters this season and has pitched to an 8.35 ERA in June. It’s possible that his last turn against the Twins in which he gave up seven runs in 2.1 innings put the nail in the coffin. He has experience as a middle and long reliever, so it makes plenty of sense to pull him.
