Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns picked up where he left off during his first start of the 2026 season.
The No. 2 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft started Cincinnati’s series-opener against the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates (1-3) on Monday and picked up the win in the 2-0 victory.
Burns pitched five innings, finishing with seven strikeouts while allowing four base runners (three walks, one single) in the shutout effort.
The hard-throwing right-hander overpowered Pirates batters with his fastball, which topped out at 99.6 mph, according to Baseball Savant, on a swinging strike to retire catcher Henry Davis in the third inning.
Chase Burns carries 2025 momentum into 2026 debut
He also caught first baseman Spencer Horwitz looking on a 98.8 mph four-seamer to end the top of the second.
Burns’ slider was arguably even more devastating, fooling several Pirates hitters to end at-bats. He closed out the top of the first by getting designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to swing on a 90 mph slider low and away.
Burns closed his start with back-to-back strikeouts on swinging strikes via slider, successfully building on a strong finish to 2025.
Last season started rough for the talented prospect. Burns had a 6.26 earned run average (ERA) through his first six major league starts, allowing 30 hits and 12 walks with 45 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. He settled down afterward, with five of his final seven appearances coming out of the bullpen. During that span, Burns pitched 16 innings, striking out 22 batters while allowing 11 hits and four walks and posting a 1.69 ERA.
That carried over to Monday, when Burns showed traits of being a future ace. He joins a talented but depleted Reds starting rotation that also includes left-hander Andrew Abbott, who had a 2.87 ERA in 166.1 innings (29 starts) last season and pitched six shutout innings in his 2026 debut, and seven-year veteran Brady Singer, the team’s leader in wins (14) a season ago.
Rhett Lowder, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, made his first start since September 2024 on Sunday, allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks in five innings during a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox, after missing 2025 with an elbow injury.
The Reds (3-1) are without projected ace Hunter Greene (elbow), a 2024 All-Star, and Nick Lodolo (blister) for the foreseeable future, with Greene out until July (at the earliest) and Lodolo on the 60-day IL.
Performances like Burns’ on Monday will make life easier for Cincinnati with its starting depth tested. And when the Reds get fully healthy, their five-man rotation could be second to none.