Reds View First-Rounder Chase Burns As Perfect Fit
The Reds defied the odds at the draft lottery last winter when they won the second overall pick in the 2024 draft.
They used their good fortune to select Wake Forest righthander Chase Burns.
Reds scouting director Joe Katuska said the Reds were focused on two player profiles in the draft: “middle-of-the-field offensive players and starting pitcher profiles.”
Burns certainly satisfies the second profile.
“We think he separated himself at the top of the class among the pitchers,” Katuska said. “He’s a competitor. He’s fiery. He’s intense.”
Over the last decade, the Reds have drafted four pitchers with first-round picks. Hunter Greene (2017) and Nick Lodolo (2019) are staples of the Cincinnati rotation. Burns and 2023 first-rounder Rhett Lowder, who also is a Wake Forest product, hope to join them one day.
Burnes spent his first two collegiate seasons at Tennessee before transferring to Wake. He believes that helped push him to the next level.
“That pitching lab they have is no joke,” Burns said. “Just being able to get there and work with all of the new technology that baseball is becoming, I learned how to move better—and working on the mental game really helped me elevate my game.”
Burns went 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts this season. He struck out 191 of the 391 batters he faced. His strikeout total was 30 more than any other Division I pitcher.
“It’s top-of-the-rotation potential,” Katuska said. “He has a fastball that runs up to 102 (mph). We think he has the best slider we’ve seen in this draft class—and even going back a couple.
“He has a four-pitch mix. His curveball is above-average to plus. His changeup is above-average. He’s a really competitive kid. He’s athletic, big, strong.
“He fits everything we’re looking for in a starting pitcher.”
