CINCINNATI (WXIX) – There were moments on Monday night where Chase Burns made Los Angeles Dodgers hitters look like they had never seen a 100 mph fastball before. Later in the game, when Noelvi Marte stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, he felt like one of the Reds’ hitters that you’d most want up with the Reds mounting a comeback.
At the end of the day, though, Burns was charged with the loss and Marte was 0-for-4 with an error that changed the entire game. The Dodgers took the series opener over the Reds, 5-2.
There are a lot of differences between these two franchises, but one of them is what they ask for from young players. The best example of that is Gavin Lux, who went from the young guy and a role player in Los Angeles in 2024 to a cog of the Reds’ lineup and a clubhouse leader in Cincinnati in 2025.
The Dodgers’ upside comes from stars in their prime. The Reds’ upside comes from players who are working to reach that level. Elly De La Cruz, Marte and Burns are all younger than anyone on the Dodgers’ roster, and the Dodgers only have one regular in their lineup younger than 25-year-old Matt McLain.
On Monday at Great American Ball Park, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (young, but on the biggest contract for a pitcher in big league history) pitched a gem and Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman delivered big hits. The Dodgers are tough to beat on nights like tonight, but the Reds still had a very good chance.
“We made some mistakes,” Terry Francona said. “You can’t give a team like that extra opportunities.”
Burns pitched more than well enough to earn a win as he struck out 10 batters in 5 ⅔ innings. He was charged with three runs, but two of them were a result of two missed plays at third base by Marte.
Still, Burns’ start was also a reminder of what the 22-year-old has to work on.
“He was terrific,” Francona said. “He didn’t back down. He yanked a couple of pitches, which can happen. He didn’t field his position — he made his mistake. Fortunately that didn’t cost him. He challenged some pretty good hitters in that lineup, and he did ok.”
Burns’ fearlessness is reminiscent of what we saw from Andrew Abbott when he debuted back in 2023, but Abbott doesn’t throw 100 mph. Great pitching always gives you a chance, and Burns gave another example of how he has the makeup and the stuff to go toe-for-toe with the Dodgers. The mistakes that cost him the most were a fastball right down the middle to Betts in the first inning, a fastball over the plate to Ohtani and a throwing error on a bunt. Even with those, Burns’ performance was still something to feel very good about.
“We’re trying to build for the future with him and win now with him,” Francona said. “The kid is doing a really good job. His future is so bright. There are going to be things that he does better. But in the meantime, we’ll take him.”
Burns’ development story is in a fascinating place. The Reds have to manage his innings in his first season of pro ball, but he also gives them their best chance to win every five days compared to their next-best option. So far, the Reds haven’t done much to manage Burns’ starts at the big league level. While that will change, it’s still a reminder of how ahead of the game he is compared to a typical frontline starter for a contending team.
While Burns’ performance on Monday was a moral victory, Marte had a tough night.
In the top of the fifth inning, the score was tied at one. Marte couldn’t corral a ground ball by Miguel Rojas, and then he bobbled a ground ball from Mookie Betts. That put two runners on base for Ohtani, and the MVP gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
“(Marte) has had some issues,” Francona said. “Today, the first ball was really hard hit. The second one, maybe he took it to the side and probably should have got in front of it. He’s working his rear end off, and that’s what you ask guys to do. Especially guys that are developing. He does that every day. He doesn’t shortchange us on effort.”
Recently, as he spoke about Marte, Francona discussed the balance between development and winning.
The best version of the 2025 Reds has Marte playing at third base. He has been one of the team’s best hitters in July, showing significant improvement and turning heads with his combination of aggressiveness and approach. Where he’s at offensively is one of the Reds’ biggest organizational victories of the year.
The defensive upside also exists, but it’s clearly a work in progress. Francona had been letting Marte play deeper into games up until recently. But Marte was replaced for defense in three of the Reds’ four games preceding Monday. Marte has also started training in the outfield, but Santiago Espinal (66 OPS+) is the only other third baseman on the roster.
When you count on young guys, there will be growing pains. It will never be perfect. The Reds’ plan is all about development, and the plan in part is impacted by the cavernous payroll gap between them and the Dodgers. The Reds haven’t even been keeping pace the teams in the middle of the payroll pack, but that’s a conversation for another day.
The Reds are playing some very big games, and they’re going with talented but still green players.
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