There was reason for optimism despite a difficult overall start for Burns.
The Cincinnati Reds had two spring training games on Sunday as part of split-squad contests, as they played the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. Top prospect Chase Burns pitched in the game against the Padres, but struggled overall. The right-handed starter allowed four earned runs across 3.2 innings in a 14-3 loss. He also gave up four hits and a walk, but Burns did record four strikeouts.
There was reason for optimism, though. According to Charlie Goldsmith, the Padres whiffed nine out of 14 times when swinging at Burns' slider. In 2025, batters whiffed on the pitch 43.9 percent of the time.
Getting swings and misses on the slider will help Burns without question. It can be utilized as a reliable strikeout pitch, but it may also be a way for Burns to get ahead of batters early in counts.
Chase Burns' Pitches
In 2025, Burns technically threw five pitches, implementing a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, curveball and sinker. He leaned on the heater the most, throwing it 57.9 percent of the time. Meanwhile, he threw the slider 33.8 percent of the time. He did not throw any other pitch more than six percent of the time, however.
Burns will need to develop a reliable third pitch in order to take the next step in his career. While he threw his curveball and sinker less than two percent of the time, his changeup was used on a more consistent basis (5.6 percent). Perhaps that will emerge as his true third pitch in 2026.
With all of that being said, having one or two especially reliable pitches is important. His fastball is effective, as he ranked in the 97th percentile for fastball velocity in 2025 at an average of 98.7 mph. His slider is clearly becoming an especially effective pitch as well. Batters hit just .197 against it last year, and, as mentioned, he recorded a 43.9 percent whiff rate on the pitch in 2025.
In other words, Burns' slider was already impressive. On Sunday, the pitch displayed signs of being even better -- which is far from ideal for opposing hitters. It is clearly going to be a difference-maker this season.
Chase Burns will obviously look to record better overall results moving forward, but his outing on Sunday against the Padres was certainly not a disaster despite the fact that he surrendered four earned runs in the defeat.