Top pitching prospect Chase Burns made his MLB debut on Tuesday night in the Cincinnati Reds' 5-4 win over the New York Yankees. Burns displayed major potential, and it sounds like manager Terry Francona is over the moon to have him on the team.
During the postgame press conference, Francona raved about the 22-year-old starting pitcher, according to Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati. The Reds' manager was so elated with Chase Burns' performance, he sent a hilarious message to the scout who evaluated the young prospect.
“I could kiss [the scout] right on the lips.”
Terry Francona says he wants to give a kiss to the Reds scout who did the work on Chase Burns pic.twitter.com/YAorUqshvB
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) June 25, 2025
Chase Burns looked solid throughout most of his debut. Through 5.0 innings pitched, the 2024 first-round pick totaled eight strikeouts while allowing six hits and three earned runs. That's a great showing for a rookie, considering he was going up against Aaron Judge and the other big bats in the Yankees' lineup.
The Reds' pitcher was over the moon with his performance as well. After the game, Chase Burns admitted that his favorite strikeout he recorded was against Judge. It'll be interesting to see how Burns continues to develop, but he's off to a nice start to begin his major league career.
Chase Burns' next start is slated for the last day of June in the Reds' matchup against the Boston Red Sox. It'll be the first contest of a three-game series. With Burns in the rotation, Cincinnati will hope he can help keep the team in the mix of the NL Central.
The Reds are 4.5 games back from the first-placed Chicago Cubs and are ranked fourth in the division. Burns joins the majors after owning an impressive 1.77 ERA and .77 WHIP while recording 89 strikeouts through 66.0 innings pitched in the minor leagues this season. The potential is there, and Cincinnati may just have a future ace on its hands in the coming years.