Last spring, Chase Burns really caught attention with his impressive stats at Wake Forest. The talented right-handed pitcher had a standout season, going 10-1 and racking up a school record of 191 strikeouts. He was chosen second overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2024 MLB draft.
Burns made his MLB debut on Tuesday night against the New York Yankees, making quite an impression. Going up against a strong Yankees lineup, he struck out the first five batters he faced. According to data from Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time a rookie starter had accomplished this feat since the 1961 season.
His first pitch in the majors was a fastball that clocked in at 98 mph, aimed at the inner corner against Trent Grisham, the leadoff hitter for the Yankees. Burns then got Grisham out, using a sharp slider that dropped 93 mph after reaching 100 on the radar for the second strike.
After hitting Ben Rice for the second out, he faced MVP Aaron Judge. After getting the count to 1-2, Burns tried for a 91 mph slider outside the zone, resulting in a swing-and-miss for strike three.
In just that first inning, Burns recorded two fastballs at 99.7 mph and two others at 100.1 mph.
Returning for two more innings, Burns continued to rack up the strikeouts. He fanned cleanup hitter Cody Bellinger with a changeup for his fourth straight strikeout and managed to strike out Paul Goldschmidt with another slider to finish the fifth.
However, the Yankees caught up with Burns during the fourth inning. Rice hit a single to start things off, followed by Anthony Volpe’s triple that brought in two runs, pushing the Yankees to a 3-0 lead. Still, Burns came back in the fifth, giving up just a single to start but then struck out Grisham again, clearing the top hitters in order.
After five innings, Burns had thrown 81 pitches and notched eight strikeouts in his debut. Although he didn’t get the win, the Cincinnati team rallied back to take the game in extra innings.
Burns described the night as “everything” he could have hoped for in his first game.
“Everything I could ask for, just to experience it,” he said.
He even received accolades from Aaron Judge, who had some high praise for the rookie. “He was throwing at 100 mph, and it was impressive to see him perform with such intensity. It’s uncommon for a young guy to stay controlled and not get too amped up,” Judge noted after the game.
It certainly wasn’t a bad start to his MLB career.
