Chase Burns will continue to see a hefty workload on the mound despite tossing 124 innings this season.
As the Cincinnati Reds remain in the hunt for the postseason being five games back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot, they will continue to lean on 23-year-old ace Chase Burns even though he has logged the most miles on his arm ever in his career this season.
Burns has pitched 124 innings, which is over his previous totals of 109 ⅓ innings in 2025 and the 100 he tossed during his final collegiate season at Wake Forest before the Reds selected him 2nd overall in the 2024 MLB Draft.
However, Cincinnati manager Terry Francona told the media that the team will not be making any changes regarding how they manage their starting right-hander.
"None. None. None," Francona said, according to MLB.com. "We have to try to win the game today, and then we’ll try to win the game tomorrow. He’s fine. He’s in a range. He’s in a good place."
Those remarks come as a surprise following Burns' most recent outing last Saturday against the Washington Nationals when Francona expressed his concern about Burns' command whenever he gets to around 100 pitches.
"That’s my biggest concern with him right now," he said. "At the end of his outing, trying to reach back for more when he’s nearing 100. That, to me, is where it starts to get a little iffy."
That day, Burns would suffer just his second loss, giving up five earned runs even as he struck out six batters through 5.1 innings of work. Even then, Burns still holds an outstanding 13-2 record on the season.
Going into his next start today against the Miami Marlins, Burns has compiled a 2.61 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while fanning 143 batters so far. Burns' track record will be especially needed given that fellow starter Hunter Greene will be sidelined for the rest of this season and all of 2027 after undergoing his second-ever Tommy John surgery.
Although this will be the first time Burns toes the rubber against Miami, he may have a decent chance at a bounce back outing as the Marlins are coming off a Thursday matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which they mustered only a single run.
The Pirates would be the team Burns earned his 13th win against on Aug. 2 when he struck out nine batters while surrendering just two hits and one earned run in six innings pitched. He delivered in a similar fashion when both ball clubs faced off on June 27, punching out 10 batters.
While making the playoffs appears to be unlikely for the Reds right now, Burns' youth and durability should keep the team afloat during a season that has raised questions on the team's future when they refused to make any significant moves at the MLB trade deadline other than shipping off Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson.
Burns will be back in action during tonight's opener against the Marlins at 6:10 p.m. EDT.
