Reds' Chase Burns: First pitcher drafted

The Reds have selected Burns with the second overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Burns was touching triple digits as an amateur but made it to campus at Tennessee and eventually transferred to Wake Forest for his junior season. He logged a 7.7 percent walk rate this year, which is a mark in line with a typical premium college starting pitching prospect, and his elite 48.8 percent strikeout rate just barely edged out Hagen Smith of Arkansas. Burns hasn't had any notable arm injuries or surgeries, which is a bit surprising given how long he's been throwing this hard. In addition to his fairly straight upper-90s fastball (touches 102 mph), Burns has a monster upper-80s slider that is one of the best pitches in the class. His curveball is also a plus pitch, and his seldom-used changeup will flash plus. There's a chance big-league hitters are able to tag his fastball more often than its velocity would portend, but there are no obvious concerns here beyond the fact that pitchers who throw this hard often need Tommy John surgery early in their careers.