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Cincinnati Reds legend Tony Perez was a “glue guy” in the Big Red Machine clubhouse.
ST. LOUIS – Chase Burns, meet Aaron Judge.
And welcome to the big leagues.
Just 13 starts into his professional career, Burns, the Cincinnati Reds‘ polished right-hander drafted No. 2 overall less than a year ago is getting called up from Triple-A Louisville to make his major-league debut Tuesday at home against the New York Yankees.
Burns, 22, has dominated at three minor-league levels this season, going 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66 innings across those 13 starts. He’s expected to join the team Monday, on the taxi squad, before being activated Tuesday.
“We’re trying to give ourselves every chance to win and be in this, and right now we feel like Chase gives us the best chance, and it’s time to go,” Reds general manager Brad Meador said.
The move comes on the heels of losing Wade Miley the injured list Friday with a flexor tendon tear, and in the midst of a lengthy IL stretch for ace Hunter Greene (groin).
“Our guys have fought back and had a good run here, and then losing Hunter and then losing Wade,” Meador said, “it might have come a little quicker than we wanted. But I think he’s ready.”
Burns gets almost as much praise from evaluators for his makeup and competitiveness as for his hard fastball and polished breaking stuff.
Meador said team officials started plotting possible debut timeframes about two weeks ago. When the more recent need arose over the weekend, the decision started to become clear. At which point, Tuesday’s opponent became part of the discussion.
“But we decided that if there’s anyone that you can feel can handle it, I feel really good about him,” Meador said. “He’s not going to back down from it, I promise.”
Burns’ timeline from draft to the big leagues is quicker than any draft pick in recent memory. Even Rhett Lowder, the 2023 No. 7 overall pick who debuted last year, didn’t make his first MLB appearance until August last year.
“Trying to figure out when the time is right is always the toughest part,” Meador said. “You never know for sure when a guy’s ready. But he’s obviously pitched as well as you could possibly hope in the first year of professional baseball, and he seems to be getting stronger.
“Even when a guy’s ready you never know, but he’s passed every test. I don’t think he’s going to be overwhelmed by the situation, for sure.”
Burns spent his longest stretch at Double-A Chattanooga this season, going 6-1 with a 1.29 ERA in eight starts before the last promotion. He started just twice for Louisville since then, earning the win in one of the starts and allowing three runs in 12 1/3 innings (2.19 ERA).
Meador said workload management might come into play for Burns as he continues his first year of pro ball one year after a college career-high of 100 innings.
“The one thing that we’ve talked about that we feel very strong about is getting him to the end of the season and not having to shut him down early because of innings or pitches,” said Meador, who added that might involve creativity this summer. “We’ll see how it goes and get to the All-Star break and talk through it more.”
After Tuesday’s debut, his next start would be against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.