Chase Burns

Burns was touching triple digits as an amateur but made it to campus at Tennessee and eventually transferred to Wake Forest for his junior season before the Reds selected him second overall in 2024. He logged a 7.7 percent walk rate as a junior, which is a mark in line with a typical premium college starting pitching prospect, and his elite 48.8 percent strikeout rate just barely edged out Hagen Smith, whom the White Sox selected fifth overall. Burns hasn't had any notable arm injuries or surgeries, which is a bit surprising given how long he's been throwing this hard. In addition to his fairly straight upper-90s fastball (touches 102 mph), Burns has a monster upper-80s slider that is one of the best pitches in the class. His curveball is also a plus pitch, and his seldom-used changeup will flash plus. There's a chance big-league hitters are able to tag his fastball more often than its velocity would portend, but there are no obvious concerns here beyond the fact that pitchers who throw this hard often need Tommy John surgery early in their careers. He didn't pitch in official games after signing and should spend the bulk of 2025 in the upper levels of the minors.