The Cincinnati Reds have only played four games this season, but their young players are showing why the squad has a bright future. The latest one was starting pitcher Chase Burns, who tossed five shutout innings in Monday’s 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right-hander allowed just one hit with seven strikeouts and three walks across over 78 pitches. He left with a 2-0 lead thanks to left fielder Spencer Steer’s sacrifice fly and right fielder Will Benson’s RBI triple, which were both in the fourth inning. The bullpen then pitched four shutout frames to end the contest and give Burns his first big-league win.
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Burns pitched in 13 MLB games (eight starts) last season, but he went 0-3 with a 4.57 ERA. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder got promoted to the big leagues in June for the first time after going 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA over 13 minor-league starts that year.
The Reds drafted Burns No. 2 overall in 2024, and he was the first pitcher in his class to get called up to MLB. The Tennessee native pitched just three High-A games before pitching eight in Double-A and three in Triple-A.
Burns’ outing on Monday was much-needed, as he logged a 4.76 ERA over six starts in spring training. His dominance of Pittsburgh showed why Cincinnati brought him up so quickly.
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Burns utilized 98-mile-per-hour fastballs and 90-mile-per-hour sliders to mow through the Pirates’ order, as he retired eight straight batters at one point and didn’t allow a hit until first baseman Spencer Horwitz’s single in the top of the fifth.
Cincinnati is now 3-1 ahead of its rematch with Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene. © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cincinnati is flush with young pitching talent, and the staff isn’t even at full strength right now. Fellow starter Hunter Greene is expected back in July as he recovers from elbow surgery, per MLB.com.
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The 2017 No. 2 overall pick established himself as the Reds’ ace over the last two years, as he went 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA over 26 starts in 2024 before going 7-4 with a 2.86 ERA across 19 starts in 2025. If he gets back to that form this season, opposing lineups will be in trouble.
Meanwhile, southpaw starter Andrew Abbott went 10-7 with a 2.87 ERA over 29 starts last season and tossed six shutout innings in the Reds’ 3-0 Opening Day loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. Cincinnati also has its No. 4 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) Rhett Lowder in the rotation, who allowed two runs on three hits over five innings in a 3-2 win over the Red Sox on Sunday.
In short, the Reds could have one of MLB’s best young starting rotations once it’s at full strength, as none of the aforementioned hurlers are older than 26.