Forget Rookie of the Year. Chase Burns can’t win it. He’s not eligible.
Maybe the Cincinnati Reds’ youngest pitcher will have to settle for the Cy Young Award.
Too early?
Not when a guy’s this talented, this overpowering, and pitching this well.
Did anybody say it was too early to call Paul Skenes a threat to win every available league award the day he broke into the majors in 2024?
You know, Paul Skenes, the National League’s reigning Cy Young winner – the guy Burns just passed on MLB’s ERA leaderboard with his latest scoreless start.
Chase Burns pitched six shutout innings in the Reds’ 15-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the final game of their three-game series May 14. He has allowed just one run in his last three starts combined (2-0, 19 innings, 0.47 ERA).
Nobody has been better for the Reds in the early going than Burns, at a time the Reds never have needed a semblance of pitching stability more, and few in the game have done more on the mound than the 24-year-old right-hander so far this season.
When he pitched another six scoreless innings to beat the Washington Nationals 15-1 in the final game of a six-game homestand, he not only helped salvage a homestand split (earning two of the Reds’ three wins), but also stretched his streak of allowing two or fewer runs to six consecutive starts. He has allowed just one run in his last three starts combined (2-0, 19 innings, 0.47 ERA).
And if not for a two-out error when he dropped the ball covering first in the fifth inning, he might have pitched seven in the game that prevented a Nats sweep.
“Probably cost him an inning, because he ended up throwing I think 15 pitches after that (to finish the fifth),” manager Terry Francona said. “But, man, when he needs to reach back with runners on and then can speed them up with the fastball, and then he spins it so well, that’s a good combination.”
Seven weeks into the season, Burns certainly has put his name firmly on the list of early front-runners for All-Star considerations – and just as certainly earned a place on anyone’s early Cy Young-contender lists.
“He has the potential to do it, 100%,” veteran teammate Nick Lodolo said.
“I wouldn’t even want to put that on his head,” Lodolo added, “but it’s impressive for sure. He’s learning quick. Just from last year to this year. He’s really confident in his stuff, and he’s a good competitor. When you take that kind of stuff and you compete at the level he does, that’s what you’re gonna get.”
Chase Burns’ effort against the Nationals May 14 was greatly needed. He won two of the Reds three games in the six-game homestand, lowering his season ERA to 1.87.
It’s hard to overstate the value of what it has meant for a Reds team that has watched its once-vaunted pitching depth all but disappear one injury at a time since the season began, eventually turning May into a continuous white-knuckled, white-water ride that dumped them from first place to last in the division, five games out entering Burns’ latest start.
“Regardless of what the waters (are), it’s fun to watch a good young pitcher get better,” manager Terry Francona said. “We’re witnessing it right in front of our eyes, and it’s fun to watch.”
That’s the thing that people in the game call one of the most impressive things about Burns: how quickly he has learned and grown from an elite, raw talent into an elite, big-league pitcher in the 22 months since he was drafted second overall out of Wake Forest.
“We told him: learn fast,” Francona said. “And he is. He’s getting it. And he’s gonna get better.
Again, you’ve gotta retain your health. But there’s a lot to really not just like, but love.”
Burns, who allowed just two hits and struck out seven in that win over the Nats, seemed to take pride in that as much as the actual results.
“The learning curve’s getting smaller,” he said.”I feel like I’ve learned so much from last year to this year. Even from start to start. Just throwing stuff in the zone more, when to throw a slider, throwing it for more strikes …
“I’m very happy with the way I’m pitching, but that could change at any moment,” he added. “I really just care about my process, how I go about my business throughout the week, staying healthy throughout the week, arm care, bullpen, stuff like that. And then let game time do what it does. And whatever happens happens.”
Whatever happens?
Even before he beat the Nationals in his ninth start of the year, Burns ranked second in the National League in bWAR, fifth in ERA and was in the top 10 in strikeouts.
Here’s how he compares to Skenes, widely considered the best pitcher in the league, after that Nationals start (both have made nine starts):
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ERA: Burns 1.87, Skenes 1.98
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W-L: Burns 5-1, Skenes 6-2
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Strikeouts: Burns 55, Skenes 56
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Innings: Burns 53, Skenes 50
All of these comparisons and talk about postseason awards are only as good as the next three-quarters of the season.
But the way Burns' catcher/advisor Jose Trevino talks, big hardware might be inevitable, whether it happens this year or not.
“As good as you all see him, he wants to be better,” said Trevino, who raved about Burns’ work ethic veteran-like poise and attention to detail. “Believe it or not, this kid is on attack mode every time he’s on the mound.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts about this kid. He wants to be great. And he’s striving for it every single day he takes the mound.”
What Burns has done so far makes him arguably the team’s most valuable contributor during a stretch in which the Reds had the majors’ worst record in May (2-10) before he took the mound against the Nats.
And if he keeps up anything close to this, regardless of awards, it could make him one of the biggest reasons the Reds have a chance to do any of the big things they have planned this summer. And fall.
“For me it doesn’t really matter. It would be great,” Burns said, “but at the end of the day I’m just trying to help the team win and get to our final goal.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds starter Chase Burns dominant again in victory over Nationals
